Daze
by tinypurplefishes
Summary: "(I talk in a daze, I walk in a maze. I cannot get out, said the starling)" ― Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita. Daisy's journey throughout the decrepit remains of civilization. She'll survive, present apocalyptic circumstances be damned. New chapter every Tuesday.
1. D-Day

**Chapter One: D-Day**

 _D-Day: the day, usually unspecified, set for the beginning of a planned attack._

 **Day 0**

The biggest change was the quiet. Five years of living in New York City had Daisy accustomed to a constant slur of police sirens and drunken bar fights and screaming souls. Now, there was nothing. It was nice, she decided. The silence was almost stifling but it brought with it a certain sense of relief. It could be described as a kind of purgatory on Earth, but then again purgatory is often associated with despair and loss, with emptiness. So, perhaps not relief.

Existential contemplations such as these is where madness lies in wait, snatching any poor soul that wonders too far. So, Daisy finished her outrageously expensive iced coffee and left the lone park bench to re-join her band of misfits. Her shoes dragged in the dirt as she ambled her way back to the roadside gas station, where she could see her friends monkeying around as young adults with their first taste of freedom are wont to do. It seemed as though Jess and Nina were teasing sweet, naïve Kat over her newfound love of the lowly gas station attendant. Seeing such an innocent blush cover her pale face brought a smile to Daisy's face, and an unexpected tug of nostalgia to her heart.

As Daisy ushered her friends back into the decidedly rusted piece of junk that was her entire life savings in physical form, she felt unreasonably sad. She had no reason to be sad, a road trip with her friends is a happy and necessary experience of any young woman's life. Maybe it was just her body tiring after a whole day driving, but she felt that something was to come to an end.

"Daze, come on! Seatbelts are _all_ on!" Daisy heard Nina insist somewhere from the backseat. She was startled out of her surprisingly insistent thoughts.

"Well, I'm sorry if your safety is an ever present worry in my life, you guys." Daisy felt better already, being once again exposed to the loving torment of her best friends. She pulled the car back onto the highway and continued their journey to New Orleans. They'd all decided to have a road trip after Jess' surprising graduation from college; not many of their classmates believed that she'd pull through.

"How long 'till we get there, Daze?" Kat asked with a pleading tone, being not a person fond of long trips in confined spaces.

"Geez, Kat, we only just got into Georgia, like, two hours ago." Daisy replied, exasperatedly.

"So…how long?"

"We'll be there tomorrow! Unless one of you lazy ingrates would like to drive…?" Daisy baited them.

"No, no!" Kat exclaimed.

"Yeah, we ingrates are fine back here!" Nina said, with Jess adding, "Mmhmm, tomorrow's fine, Daze!"

Daisy continued driving with an indulgent smile. She could see the pink and dusty purple colours of the sunset in the sky and was glad that the sun was behind them. In the distance there was traffic lining the highway, promising an irritatingly long time until they would reach their destination for the night, Atlanta.

After they had sat in traffic for about half an hour, Nina and Jess had begun to play red hands in the back, while Kat snuggled into her pillow, asleep, in the front. Daisy tapped her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of whatever mindless song was playing softly on the radio and sighed in impatience.

"I swear the traffic isn't this bad in New York." She said quietly to the girls in the back.

"Let's not exaggerate, dear Daisy." Nina said with a smirk. "We're almost in the city, aren't we?"

"Psh, yeah. We should get there in about forty minutes."

"Forty minutes?!" Jess exclaimed, "God dammit!" Her loudness made the girls look towards Kat in trepidation. But with a snort she continued what looked like a riveting dream.

"Quiet, Jess." Daisy warned her. As Jess was about to defend herself, a phone began to ring. Daisy recognised her ringtone and picked up, seeing that her brother was calling.

"Nick? What's up?"

"I did something bad." He mumbled to his sister. Despite his long standing history as a heroin addict, this was cause for caution to rise in Daisy.

"What do you mean, Nick? What's wrong? What did you do?" Daisy asked in quick succession, growing panicked. Kat had woken up, and all three girls were looking toward Daisy in worry as she drove the car slowly into the city with her left hand, and her phone in the right.

"I killed Cal. I killed…Calvin." Nick said, notably upset and most likely crying. Daisy's heart dropped to her feet.

"What…? What do you mean you killed Cal?" Daisy asked, dreading the answer. Kat's eyes opened wide as she looked at Daisy and there were two gasps heard from the backseat at the thought of Daisy's brother killing someone.

"He...He pulled a gun. Daze, he was gonna kill me. So I got it, and I shot him. In the stomach. There's blood. Daze, it's on my hands." He was sobbing through the phone and sounded more panicked then Daisy could ever remember her little brother sounding.

"So, it was self-defence? Nick, you're okay. Listen to me, you're okay. You had to do that, Nick. It's okay. Look, I'll call mom and tell her to come get you." Daisy reassured.

"No! Daisy, please. Don't call mom, she can't know. She can't." He pleaded with her, tears audible in his voice.

"Nick, I have to call someone to help you. You need help. Do you want me to call Travis?" She asked, hoping that Nick would let their step-father handle this.

After a silence Nick replied a soft, "Okay", and Daisy assured him that she would call Travis right away. She hung up on her brother after she had determined him to be stable enough for the moment and brought her hand down to rest on the steering wheel. Daisy's breathing was as heavy as her heart in her chest after hearing her brother's distress.

"Is Nick okay?" Kat asked softly from beside her.

Daisy realised herself and looked toward her concerned friend, "Yeah, Kat. He's okay. Uh, his dealer pulled a gun on him. He had to…yeah." She finished with a sigh. Daisy looked towards the traffic in front of her, finally thinning as they reached their exit. Still stopped in traffic, she asked if one of her friends could take the wheel while she called her step-father, and Kat replied in the affirmative. They maneuvered around each other until they were once again in their respective seats, buckling their seatbelts.

Kat continued their drive, heading for the hostel they were staying at for the night, while Daisy dialled Travis' number. He picked up promptly.

"Daisy? Are you okay?" Travis sounded concerned, it wasn't every day that Daisy called her step-father. Though she personally had nothing against him, she stuck with her brother and sister in thinking of his existence in their lives as awkward, or maybe unwanted.

"Nick called me. He said that he killed someone-his old dealer, Cal." Daisy told him quickly.

"What-?"

"Cal pulled a gun on him, he didn't have a choice!" She exclaimed.

"Daisy, calm down. Where is he?" Daisy could hear what she assumed to be her mother questioning why she was calling Travis.

"Listen, you can't tell mom. He doesn't want her to know."

"Daisy, I have to tell her. He's her son."

Daisy exasperatedly replied, "Fine! Just hurry, call him and find out where he is, then just go. Help him!"

"Okay, okay. Thanks for letting me know, Daisy."

With a hum she hang up and breathed a sigh of relief. In the back, Jess leaned forward and asked, "Is everything okay, Daze?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Daisy replied in a flat tone. Maybe this was what she had pre-emptively felt earlier in the day. A turning point in her brother's and by extension her family's lives. The streets were quiet again, only a few cars passing by them.

They soon arrived at the hostel, which lived up to every stereotype Daisy had heard. They made their way through halls and passed closed doors and open doors, each promising some sort of dreary debauchery that usually hung about the young and adventurous. Kat, Jess, Nina and Daisy finally found their room and opened the door, no lock to be seen, and stood in the doorway.

"At least it's only for the night." Nina said with a sigh and tiredness that all in the group felt. Daisy leaned against the door frame and one by one the girls entered. Kat touched her shoulder as she passed, concerned for Daisy. She gave Kat a tired smile and entered, falling into her designated bed to the left, under Jess'.

"It's so…communal." Jess said with a grimace, "We're supposed to share a bathroom with all of these other people?"

"Yes, Jess. That's what a hostel is, generally. Temporary communal living." Nina told her. "Hey, you know what would be great? We should order a famous Atlantean pizza!"

"I'm pretty sure Atlantean isn't a word, and since when is their pizza famous?" Daisy replied with a small smile. "But that sounds great, how 'bout you order."

"Okay…large Pepperoni and a large Hawaiian?" Nina questioned.

"No! Keep that weird pineapple shit out of my room!" Jess said with a strange vehemence, apparently offended by the idea of pineapple on pizza.

"Okay, then. Pepperoni and a Cheese?" She compromised, getting nods in response.

"How about you order, and I'll wait for it downstairs. I need some air anyway." Daisy said, feeling hollow after the strange day. "Nick's real trouble. First he says that he saw his girlfriend eating someone after a bender, now he's shot his dealer…"

"Yeah, that's pretty insane." Kat said with a strange look at Daisy's cavalier attitude. "Hey, you know there've been a whole lotta reports of people acting strange and even eating other people. There was one in…Chicago and another in LA, there was a video too. Crazy."

Daisy felt sceptical at Kat's claims, thinking that Nick was likely hallucinating what Gloria had done. But there seemed to be more to the story. Daisy left Nina to call the nearest pizza place and made her way back through the winding halls. There really were strange noises, Daisy heard moaning and dry heaving behind one, and what sounded like bed-breaking sex behind another. Best to leave these devils to their devices.

She made it outside and breathed in the cold night air. There was an instantaneous relief and clarity. Daisy stepped down the stairs leading to the hostel entrance and sat on the lowest step near the wall, leaning against the cold brick with her legs stretched out in front of her. Daisy's feet knocked together in her boots as she reached into her pocket and surfaced her phone, checking for messages. When she found none, she decided to call her mother to get an update on Nick's situation.

"Mom?" Daisy asked as she heard her pick up.

"Daisy? Are you okay?" Her mother sounded frantic.

"What, mom? Yeah, I'm fine. What about Nick?"

"Daisy, Nick's fine. But I'm gonna need you to get somewhere safe."

"Wh-"

"Listen, Daze. Something's happening. There are these people, they're dead but they-"

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Daisy was concerned at what her mother was saying, something that seemed impossible.

"Listen! Daisy, the dead are coming back to life, and they're dangerous. You have to get somewhere safe, and…we'll come for you. Nick, Alicia, Travis-we'll all come, just. Stay safe, Daisy."

"What? But…that's impossible. Are you joking? This isn't funny."

"I'm not joking, Daisy. I was at the school and, one of them was there."

"Wh-?" At some point Daisy had started panicking, tears running down her face.

"You can only kill them by hitting their brain, Daze. And don't let one bite you. That's how you turn. But, please don't go-"

"Mom?" The line had gone dead. Daisy pulled her phone from her ear and tried to redial, but it went straight to voicemail. Her breathing was beginning to go ragged and she could feel her heartbeat pounding in her head. She stood, using the wall behind her to pull her suddenly weak body up.

A clatter startled Daisy out of her hysteria. It had come from the alley nearest to her, one building over from the hostel. Suddenly a boy came running out, carrying what looked like her pizza. He came towards her and barrelled into Daisy, hand catching hers and dragging her back up the stairs and into the hostel. The boy slammed through the door and Daisy was flung into the room. She stared at him shocked as he fumbled for the lock on the door, turning the deadbolt that he found.

"What?" Daisy said flatly, shocked.

"Sorry! But there was…hey are you Daisy?" He asked, turning towards her. Daisy nodded hesitantly in response and he smiled. "Here's your pizza!" He placed it into her outstretched hands which had raised automatically.

"Why?"

"There was this guy! I think he was homeless, or an addict…or both. He was chasing me, slowly. But he was growling and drooling and he went to bite me, so I ran." There was a thud on the door. They both turned, but they couldn't see through the heavy wooden door. "That'll be him." He said with wide eyes.

"He…tried to bite you?" Daisy said, remembering what her mother had said. The pizza boy nodded with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, disbelieving. He looked nervous.

"Do you, want to come up until he leaves?" Daisy asked reluctantly, not willing to make this boy brave the chopping jaws of a homeless man despite her reservations. He looked instantly relieved.

"God, thanks so much. I'm Glenn." He proclaimed with an awkward smile and a friendly hand outstretched. She shook his hand lightly with a bewildered smile. He seemed friendly. Glenn was around Daisy's age, Asian and wearing a faded red cap sans any expected advertisement of the pizza place he had originated from.

Daisy turned and led him through the halls and entered once she came across her room. Her friends looked up when they entered, Jess examining the boy beside her with a wary eye.

"You work fast, Daze." She said with a hesitantly suggestive tone.

"Wha-? No! This is the pizza guy. Glenn! He was chased by one of the, uh-" Daisy trailed off when she realised the insanity of the situation and the concerning lack of knowledge of said situation that her three friends had. She closed the door behind her and Glenn, ducking under Nina's hanging legs to sit on the bed below hers.

"You guys know, the uh, attacks that have been on the news? That one guy in New York, he attacked a police officer and ate his face off?" Daisy asked her friends in a serious tone. Jess and Kat nodded from their beds across the room.

Nina ducked her head to see Daisy and the mysterious pizza guy, saying, "Yeah, I saw the video. It was pretty gnarly!"

"Gross, Nine! That guy died! Or at least is now faceless…" Kat scolded, trailing off with a disgusted look on her face.

"So, uh. That particular, phenomenon, has become more…widespread." Daisy continued haltingly.

"What do you mean more 'widespread'?" Kat asked softly.

"People are coming back from the dead! And then they wanna eat people!" Glenn exclaimed abruptly. Daisy looked at him, disapproving of his tactlessness, while the others looked on in shock. Nina slid down from her bed and turned towards Glenn and Daisy with narrowed eyes.

"Wait, what? Who even are you? Daze, why is this guy going on about dead people and cannibalism?"

"Well, this is Glenn, the guy who brought our pizza." Daisy said, Kat, Jess and Nina still looking confused as to why he was in their room. "And he was being chased by one of the-uh, aforementioned people-hungry dead things. So he's gonna wait it out with us."

"So…what he said was true?" Kat questioned with pale features and a nervous, disbelieving smile. "About the dead people?"

"Yes." Daisy said resignedly. "My mom told me about it earlier. The dead are coming back to life and attacking people. One bite and you're dead, you become one of them." Her friends were beginning to become appropriately panicked.

"But, wh-" Jess was interrupted as the lights in the room shut off and they were surrounded by darkness. Daisy heard Kat let out a squeal as she rushed to the window of their tiny room. As Jess comforted Kat, Daisy looked out towards the city of Atlanta and saw the twinkling lights abounding systematically shut off. Distant screams of surprise and terror could be heard in the dead night when Daisy pushed open the reluctant, rusted-shut window, peeling paint dusting her hands.

Cool air hit her face and Daisy felt alone. The darkness was stifling. "The power's gone in the entire city." She said quite redundantly.

"No, that's stupid." Nina said, she took out her phone and turned it on, illuminating the room. Daisy pulled the window shut with a bang and turned, seeing the pale, lost faces of her friends, and even the pizza guy, Glenn, looking towards her for some sort of direction.

"It has, Nine." Daisy said resignedly with a sigh. "Shit's about to get real."


	2. The In-Between

**Chapter Two: The In-between**

 _In-between: situated somewhere between two extremes or categories; intermediate._

 **Day 1**

After a seemingly endless night, Daisy and her friends woke with the Sun. Reluctant sleepers were stirred by the harsh light striking their closed eyes. Daisy walked over and shook Kat's shoulder when she remained abed. Poor Kat rubbed her still asleep eyes with weak fists while Daisy stepped over a despondent Nina on the floor.

She once again looked out of the lone window of their room, searching the city for some sign of movement or life. All that was to be seen in the street was a mass of the stray dead, ambling along and snapping their jaws at each other. It seemed impossible, for Daisy the thought of the dead rising with a hunger for human flesh sounded like something out of a horror film. Daisy could feel her heartbeat strong and fast in her chest, she was beginning to panic. Many people were averse to change, feared it like nothing else. There had been a change in the night, and Daisy knew it to be irreversible.

Never mind the walking dead, the sight of bodies strewn across the street and blood staining the pavement was enough to see this change. Daisy looked over the skyline and saw spirals of grey smoke rising from accidents unknown to her. One such spiral she saw lead to a crashed car at the end of the street, she saw a woman halfway through the windshield, wreckage piercing through her chest. But she was still moving, blood dripping from her lips as she reached toward her fellow dead.

"What's it look like, Daze? Is everything ok? Back to normal?" An awake Kat questioned meekly, already knowing to dread the answer.

"No." Daisy said flatly. "I think it's all gone."

"What's all gone?" Nina asked with a furrowed brow.

"Everything." Daisy backed away from the window and collapsed onto a bed, pulling up her legs and hugging them to her chest. Beside her, Glenn was sitting awkwardly, uncomfortable imposing on these strangers.

"Wh-ha ha, what do you mean, everything?" Glenn asked with a disbelieving laugh. Daisy just gestured towards the window. He went and looked out at the devastation that Daisy had seen. "Oh, God. Oh, no. Shit!"

And the panic spread through the group like the dead could be seen spreading through the city. After they'd all seen the spectacle, a silence had come over them.

"What are we gonna do?" Jess asked in a desperate whine. She looked to Daisy expectantly.

"I dunno, Jess! Shit." Daisy reached across and picked up her charging phone, seeing that the charging had stopped midway and remembered the power outage. She unlocked it and dialled her mother's number, though she only heard a dial tone when she brought the phone to her ear. Daisy gave a reluctant sigh and stood, making her way to the door.

"Wh-Daisy, you can't go out there!" Kat said, scared for her friend.

"Someone has to." Daisy said, closing the door behind her. She looked up the length of the hall, and saw that nothing had changed since the night before. Daisy pursed her lips, trying to brave herself, and walked towards the door across from theirs. She put her ear against the door and listened for any sounds telling of life. Daisy heard nothing. Her hand reached for the doorknob and turned, finding resistance. It was locked. She sighed in annoyance and moved to the next door, forgoing listening for sounds to try the doorknob first. It turned smoothly, and the door was pushed open slightly.

Daisy heard something, the same moaning that she had noticed the night before. She ventured into the room, calling a warning 'hello' to any people inside. The room was a mess, suspicious stains on the bed sheets and clothes strewn across the floor, this was a special kind of hell for Daisy.

The moaning seemed to originate from a door to the left of Daisy, so she pushed it open as well. Daisy saw a man crouched in the corner of the room, curiously facing the wall with a hand scratching at the space beside him. Beyond the moaning, a dripping sound could be heard coming from the corner. Daisy saw a wound in the man's side, red blood dripping methodically onto the tile floor beneath him, collecting into a sizeable puddle. It was doubtless that this man was one of the dead, the same as the ones in the street, and the one that had chased Glenn into the hostel.

Daisy backed away slowly, but the man was alerted to her presence when her shoe scuffed against the carpet in the next room. Its head snapped towards her, nostrils widened as it smelt her and began to rise, edging towards her with a limp. Daisy closed the door hurriedly, and it started to scratch at the door. She was, for the moment, safe. Daisy's heart was again pounding in her chest.

A choked sob escaped her as she turned her back to the door and the dead thing behind it. Daisy sank to the floor, leaned against the door and tears began running down her face. She felt her hand touch something wet, and lifted it in front of her face to see that the blood that had edged under the door was now covering her hand. This caused a wail to escape the panicked girl, she rose out of the growing puddle and ambled her way to the hall.

Daisy re-entered her room and saw her friend staring in horror at the blood that covered her hand and the back of her pants. Everything was only getting worse.

 **Day 4**

It had been four days since the dead first started to rise, and Jess was getting hungry. With the girls, and Glenn, being too frightened to once again venture out of the room, they had begun to get cabin fever.

Daisy was both surprised and not surprised at Jess' capacity to continuously complain, even in the face of an apocalyptic disaster. There was nothing to be heard in the city, save the very occasional scream, siren or lone helicopter, so things were looking bleak. They had decided the day before to search the hostel for food, having exhausted the minimal supply brought by Nina and the scarce finds from adjacent rooms.

It was, of course, Daisy and Glenn that had been chosen for this task of finding food. Kat, Nina and Jess had always been reliant on Daisy for the more practical, adult aspects of life, and it had become clear after only four days that they would rely on Glenn in much the same way.

With no dead being encountered during the journey down the hall and down the stairs, Daisy and Glenn were doubting that their luck would continue. They had reached the front desk, and turned left down a hall near the stairs after seeing a sign indicating that the kitchen was that way. The door labelled 'kitchen' was locked, so Daisy and Glenn stopped to listen for any possible dangers lying within.

They shared a questioning look, both shaking their heads to show that they had not heard any suspicious noises. With that, Glenn turned the door knob and eased the kitchen door open. He entered slowly, hands by his sides with no weapon to raise.

Daisy couldn't see any of the dead in the room, just a few tables interspersed in the dining hall, rotten food decorating abandoned plates and glass sprinkling the floor where someone had dropped a drink. They spotted a door on the opposite side of the room and made their way towards it, stepping over the broken glass and an oddly placed lone bagel. Again, they pressed their ears against the door, cautious of any unwanted occupants.

As Glenn made to push the door open, Daisy grabbed his wrist. She had heard the same groaning as before.

"There's one in there." She whispered harshly, her eyes going wide in panic. Daisy was beginning to think that their plan to get food was a bust.

"Well, they're kinda just people, aren't they?" Glenn asked her hesitantly.

"Yeah, but _dead_!" Daisy emphasised. "I don't think they'll give us the food if we ask!"

"Uh, then let's…get some weapons! We can kill them, or-"

"How do you kill a dead person, Glenn?" Daisy asked franticly. "Can you, even?"

Glenn looked as though he was trying to concentrate. He looked around the room, stopping when he came across a butter knife on the table nearest to them.

"Well, physically, I assume if you just…kinda stab them. They'll have to die?" He didn't seem so sure.

"I don't think a butter knife's gonna do it!" Daisy whispered sardonically.

"Can you find anything better?!" Glenn stressed. Daisy looked around and spotted a broom leaning against a wall. She picked it up and waved it around sharply, giving Glenn a doubtful look. "Let's just, do it. Okay, Daisy? We'll go in there and…stop 'em somehow."

At her decisive nod, Glenn made his way back to the door and pushed it open, rushing in with his knife raised. There was a woman there, wearing what looked like it was once a chef's uniform, now covered in blood and ripped in the stomach. When Daisy looked closer, she could see that the slash was in the person as well, that organs she didn't care to name were spilling out onto the floor in a pile.

Glenn looked back at Daisy, who looked back at him with panicked eyes. "Hey, lady!" He said hesitantly. The dead woman looked up, head tilting and jaws crunching at him. "Oh, god. Uh, we need…food." His voice got weaker, as she began to stumble towards him with arms rising up to grab at him.

Glenn stumbled back into Daisy, who clenched at his arm, and raised the handle of the broom at the dead woman. She kept coming, running into the broom which stopped her progress for only a second.

"Do something!...Get it in the brain! My mom said that that's the only way to kill them, the brain!" Daisy said, her voice rising. Glenn leaped forward, knife first, and aimed it at the head of the woman. It was only a butter knife though, too dull to do anything but cut the woman's skin a little. Daisy's eyes leapt around the room, landing on another knife that was larger and noticeably sharper.

"There!" She shouted, pointing at the knife. Glenn followed her movement and picked it up, turning back towards the woman and steeling himself to strike. As she came closer, he flinched behind his arm, knife raised and landing right in her eye. There was a sickening squelch as the knife went through the eye and into the brain.

Suddenly, the dead woman fell and stopped moving. Daisy breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was finally, properly dead. Glenn turned towards her shocked, and they both smiled reluctant, relieved smiles at each other.

Daisy backed away from the corpse, and looked deeper into the kitchen. There she saw a heavy metal door, that doubtless had food inside that would last the group a while, until their next foray into the world of the dead.

 **Day 9**

Things were getting worse. The room stunk like Daisy couldn't believe, the food that they had gathered from the hostel was dwindling, and the group was going mad with worry and uncertainty.

"We have to go." Nina said resignedly. Daisy looked to her, questioning. "We can't just stay here, you guys. It's not safe, there's dead people all over the place. We should…leave the city."

"Wh-why?" Jess asked her, terrified at the thought of going beyond the room, and being amongst the dead.

"Won't it be safer out there? There're less people _outside_ of the city, so it would make sense that there's less of…those _things_. Daisy?" Nina looked towards her, eyes begging for support. When Daisy thought about it, what Nina was saying seemed to make sense.

"Yeah." Daisy said. "I think we should…get some supplies, and leave."

"Mhmm. But where would we go?" Glenn asked with worry.

"Just, anywhere. We can think of the _where_ after we go." Nina said, seeming desperate to get out of the place that she perceived to be filled with danger.

"Okay, so…is it agreed?" Daisy asked, seeking the opinion of all the group members. When she got a nod out of everyone, she nodded decisively herself. "We can leave tomorrow. We'll, stop by the corner store we passed on the way here, and then we'll go."

With that, they sat in silence, anticipating and dreading the excitement of the day to come.


	3. Forsaken

**Chapter Three: Forsaken**

 _Forsaken: completely deserted or helpless; abandoned._

 **Day 10**

Daisy was leaning against the closed door as she waited for her friends to ready themselves for their journey out of the overrun Atlanta. Her fingers tightly gripped the bat she held in her hands, found behind the front desk of the hostel, and she stood in aggravation. The only reason that they had delayed this trip was to maintain preparedness, and yet Jess and Kat still found cause to delay.

"Come on, guys." She said, finally. They looked up from the floor where they were packing their bags, and stared with fearful eyes. Daisy felt bad for being abrupt with them, they were visibly the most affected of the group when it came to the whole undead situation. "Look, let's just, get this over with. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll be safe."

This seemed to help Jess and Kat, with Nina also looking more calm and determined. The two girls stood with the rest of the group, and they set off out of the room and out of the hostel.

The group didn't encounter any of the dead until they reached the street. As soon as they opened the front door of the hostel, Daisy could see a group of the dead loitering at the end of the street and one leaning over a long-dead person, having what looked like an enthusiastic snack of his innards.

"Oh, God." She could hear one of the girls whisper behind her, thankfully having the sense to remain quiet if not silent. Glenn stepped out ahead, with the metal pipe that he had found a few days previous raised in caution, the rest followed behind him. They made their way across the street where Nina had pointed out Daisy's car to Glenn.

None of the dead noticed them, or if they did they didn't care to make their way towards them. Daisy went to the driver's side door and pressed the unlock button on the keys. Without fail, the doors unlocked and everyone piled into the car. Kat, Nina and Jess huddled in the back seat, while Glenn joined Daisy up front. She placed the key into the ignition and turned, the engine spluttering to life.

Ahead she saw some of the dead turn their heads in interest, beginning to slowly come for the only noise in the quiet.

Slowly, the car pulled out and Daisy manoeuvred her way around the dead, who clawed at the windows as they passed, causing Kat to squeak in fear. Daisy let out a sigh of relief as they passed safely, and made her way down the street towards the corner store a few hundred metres down the road.

After a minute of the car crawling along, they reached the store and Daisy parked right in front.

"We need weapons." She said decisively. Beside her, Glenn nodded in agreement. "Look, there's a hardware store across the road. How 'bout Jess and I go in while you, Kat and Nina find some food?"

"Okay, everyone good with that?" Glenn called softly into the back seat. The girls nodded meekly, more concerned with the few dead that could be seen roaming around outside.

Daisy grabbed her bat from where it was in front of her and opened the car door, exiting. She nodded towards Glenn over the car and grabbed Jess' arm to lead her towards the hardware store across the road. Any of the dead that were scattered along the street were uninterested in what they were doing, continuing to cannibalise whatever they had found. As they reached the door, Daisy pushed it open, lamenting the quiet jingle of the bell, and motioned for Jess to go ahead of her. Daisy looked, the dead were still uninterested despite the bell.

Across the road, Daisy could see Glenn, Kat and Nina making their way to a grocery store on the nearby corner of the next road. She entered the store after Jess.

"What—uh, what should we be looking for?" Jess muttered distractedly.

"Anything…sharp or, heavy and blunt? You know, anything that'll bash in the head of those dead people." Jess nodded faintly, going to look in a far aisle. Daisy sighed, not quite sympathetic to her friend who was evidently having difficulty with this apocalyptic scenario. She raised her hands and gathered her hair, snapping a hair tie in place. Daisy's hands came down and rubbed at her arms as she browsed through the aisles.

Just as she saw a locked case of axes that looked particularly promising, Daisy heard Jess call out for her. Her eyes widened and she picked up her pace, rushing towards where she had heard Jess. Daisy came upon her friend sitting in the back corner of the store, arms hugged around her legs and tears running from her reddened eyes.

Inwardly, Daisy sighed yet again, but outwardly she sat beside her friend and put a comforting arm around her.

"Jess…what's wrong?" She was answered by narrowed eyes and a disbelieving stare. "Okay, okay. I know what's wrong. But, do you have to…" Daisy didn't want to sound insensitive, "do you have to do this now..." She was unsuccessful.

"Jesus Christ, Daze, not everyone can be as unaffected as you!" Daisy's head jerked back indignantly.

"Wha—? I'm not unaffected, Jess! It's just, we're currently in a _life or death situation_ , so I thought, maybe I'll hold off on any mental breakdowns!" Jess bowed her head and her eyes scrunched up as if in pain. "Okay, I'm sorry, Jess. Let's just…get as many weapons as we can, and then we'll be outta here." Daisy tried to placate her.

Jess took a deep breath and nodded, standing with Daisy. She was hunched over, making her way down another aisle, resigned. Daisy breathed a sigh of relief and resumed her own inspection of the axes. She came back to the red-barred cage, and fingered the heavy silver lock that hung from the bars.

Daisy had come to the conclusion that she should look for a key behind the counter or in the back room, when she heard a shout from outside. Her head snapped up, and she rushed towards the glass front of the shop, Jess not far behind her. Suddenly, she could see out the dirty, barred window, panicking when all she could see was the dead. Where there had been only a few, there were now hundreds. Hundreds upon hundreds. Her arm snapped out to catch Jess and her hand held tightly onto her shirt, pulling her down sharply as Daisy crouched.

They were not that lucky, some of the dead had seen them and were now ambling their way into the store. A few had gotten in when they heard it, the tires screeching as they pulled away and veered down the street. Their friends had left them. Though Daisy understood why they had done so, it was hard not to feel bitter as she stared down the bloodshot, yellow eyes of a dead man. She was grateful, however, that the noise had caused all but five of the dead to backtrack and try to follow the noise.

Daisy quickly dodged the dead, using her bat to push the one closest to her into the others that crowded the store. She heard a sharp scream from Jess, and Daisy quickly darted behind them as they stumbled towards the now silent Jess who was running towards the back of the store, while Daisy dead-bolted the front door of the store in case any more of the dead joined them.

The few who were in the store turned towards Daisy after Jess had slammed the back door. Daisy steeled herself, and raised her bat up behind her, posed to smash some dead heads in. There was a loud crack as the bat splintered into pieces over the nearest one's head, her eyes widened and she panicked, now rushing past them to the back of the store. Daisy slammed into the door from her momentum and rattled the doorknob, almost screaming when it did not open. She bashed her hand against the door.

"Jess! Open this _fucking_ door, right now!" She said emphatically. Daisy heard Jess moving behind the door, tried the doorknob again and she heard a metallic click. Much to her relief, the door now freely open and she rushed in, slamming the door behind her. Finally, she clicked the lock back into place and sank down with her back against the door. Daisy looked up at Jess with tired eyes.

"What the—" Daisy was interrupted by a loud bang and a sudden jolt when the dead reached the door and were slamming themselves up against it. "Fucking hell." She said bluntly, somewhat exasperated at each constant challenge this new world seemed to present.

Daisy stood up and pushed against the door and against the ramming dead. Each time she was jolted, her eyes rolled back into her head with annoyance. Daisy looked around the room and her eyes landed on a heavy-looking metal cabinet.

"Jess, get that cabinet." She prompted Jess, who looked quite afraid of the jolting door. "Get the _fucking_ cabinet, Jess!" Daisy then yelled, which startled Jess out of her stupor. Jess moved towards the cabinet and pulled it, the metal screeching as it dragged across the floor. Daisy and Jess both cringed at the noise, and Daisy helped to pull it in her place when it was close enough.

Daisy sighed in relief and Jess collapsed to the ground. It was then in the resigned quiet that Daisy saw how pale she was, and that there was a large, bloody chunk missing from the back of her shoulder. Blood gushed down Jess' side, staining her white shirt almost completely red.

"Jesus shit, Jess! Were you bit? My mom said that's what turns you into one of them!" Daisy exclaimed abruptly.

"Whu—?" Jess muttered incoherently. Daisy caught her as she slumped to the side, faint from blood loss.

"Oh, God."

"Why…are you so pale, Daze?" Jess mumbled as she looked up from where she was lying in Daisy's arms. Blood ran over her legs and arms as she exhaled at Jess' remark.

"I'm…pretty sure you're the pale one in this situation, Jess-arino." Daisy said with wide eyes and disbelief at her friend's impending fate.

"What the—don't call me that, dipshit." Jess managed to speak, just barely.

"Don't call me dipshit, dipshit." Daisy retorted faintly.

"How long did it…take to come up with that one…dipshit." Jess smiled softly, becoming paler and stiller.

"What—Jess?" Daisy prompted when she saw that Jess had become too still. "Jess?" She was beginning to feel faint, and knew that her face must be as pale as Jess' own cold face before her. Daisy's head ducked to Jess' chest and she moaned.

"Fuck."

 **Elsewhere**

"Fuck." Glenn exclaimed as he tried to stop the bleeding. As they had ran for the car, she had gotten scratched by one of the dead things. Blood continued to run down into the car as he pressed even harder. "Do you have a med-kit? Or something…?" He yelled at Kat, who looked stricken.

"What?"

"A _medical kit_ of _medical supplies_?"

"Uh…"

"Go look!" Glenn managed to shout as he tried to comfort Nina who was looking terrified at where Glenn was holding her bloody, purple bruised arm.

Kat ran around the car got the keys from the ignition, using them to unlock the trunk. She lifted it up and saw the blessed white container with the red cross that Daisy's mother had insisted they pack. Kat cried out in relief and she picked it up, brandishing it in the air triumphantly.

"Kat, for Christ's sake, Nina is bleeding out." Glenn called. "Shit, no. I mean…you're not bleeding out, you'll be fine. It's fine. Oh, God." Kat startled and ran back to the back seat where Nina was laying, getting bacterial wipes and bandages from the kit when Glenn asked her for them.

Nina moaned as Glenn wiped the wound, then quickly bounded the stark white bandages around the scratch. As soon as the bandages were secured, he released Nina's arm and it was brought up to her side and cradled. Glenn sat back in his seat and sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Thank God that's over." He asserted. Kit sat herself down in the backseat near Nina's head and across from Glenn.

"Great. Now we'll go back and get Daisy and Jess!" Glenn looked at her, stricken.

"No…" He called softly, dragging out the sound as his head dropped into his hands. Glenn saw Kat looking at him sternly in the corner of his eyes and rethought his words. "I mean…yes!"


	4. Devastation

**Chapter Four: Devastation**

 _Devastation: great destruction or damage._

 **Day 10**

It had been a few hours and Daisy was beginning to smell the rot. Never had the stench of death completely invaded her senses as it did now. Jess' body lay limply where it had fallen when Daisy had gently pushed it off of her. Her head was twisted back and to the side unnaturally, somehow her open, blank eyes had sought Daisy, the blonde hair falling delicately in front of them Daisy's only reprieve. It gave Daisy a strong feeling of unease, to have the girl that she had known for years be irrecoverably gone. But there was a grim sort of acceptance that had led to Daisy refraining from any emotional outburst, as Jess had been very prone to before her death.

The dead that were outside the storeroom had stopped ramming themselves into the door, apparently uninterested now that there was no sound coming from the room. Daisy gave a sigh and stood, moving towards the door. She gave an uneasy look down at Jess' body and stepped over her, leaning over the cabinet that blocked the door to place her ear against it.

Daisy didn't hear any sound, save for a few grumblings that could be from the dead that remained on the street. She stepped back and looked at the cabinet, judging the apparent weight and lamenting her now solitary confinement, it had been relatively easy to move with Jess there. Her aching stomach did not allow for this hesitation, however, so she braced herself against the side of the cabinet and pushed.

Immediately there was the sharp screeching of metal against metal, the cabinet against the floor, and she cringed, but did not relent in her pushing. After a few minutes the cabinet had been pushed aside from the door and her path was then unblocked. Daisy exhaled in relief and made to turn, remembering Jess and thinking that in this new world, anything that could be taken with little to no resistance was needed for her continued survival. At the same time as she felt clawed fingers grip her shoe, Daisy saw the now awake eyes of Jess; she was one of the dead.

Daisy screeched in surprise, despite her usual cool-headedness. She fell from Jess' hand pulling her down, and she quickly scooted back on her ass.

"Fuck me, Jess." Daisy said exasperatedly, half-expecting some inane comment in return about Jess not being a lesbian, and becoming sad when there was none. She turned over onto her knees and kicked back with her feet, crawling over to the shelves at the back of the storeroom. There was rumbling growls behind her as she scattered the miscellaneous objects on the bottom shelf, blessing her luck as her hand came upon something that felt long, hard and wooden. Daisy suppressed any childish impulse to giggle at her own mental description, and swung the object down towards her feet, at Jess' head.

When she missed, Daisy stood and turned to face Jess, seeing now that she held a heavy shovel in her hands. She cringed and held the shovel high, bringing it down and cracking into Jess' skull with the hard, sharp side of the shovel. There was a sickening crunch and then a squelch as Daisy pulled the shovel from her former best friend's head. Abruptly, she turned away and heavily vomited on the floor beside her, some matting her dark, long hair, and splashing on her shoes and the finally-dead Jess' still face.

 **Day 12**

It had been a long couple of days. Daisy had escaped from the dreaded hardware store backroom, her new trusty shovel in hand, fought through the hundreds, if not two, dead that still roamed the store and sought refuge in a nearby house that was above a bookstore she had found that was a block away. Yesterday, she ran to the corner grocery store that she had sent Glenn, Nina and Kat to just days before, and gathered some small provisions which had sustained her thus far.

Daisy was snacking on a small bag of salt-and-vinegar chips that were causing her to scrunch her face up at the sourness.

"Eugh, why do I even like these? They're always so fucking unpleasant to eat. You, sir, are a masochist, methinks." Daisy was muttering to herself as she licked her fingers, her other hand holding open a heavy book that she had gotten from the downstairs bookstore. Her hand rummaged in the chip packet once more, and she grunted when she found that it was empty. Daisy's eyes skimmed the remainder of the page and she dog-eared it, crumpling the packet and looking up to throw it overhand to the nearby trash can.

She closed the book, _Pet Semetary_ , and set it beside her, rising and going over to the bed in the centre of the room. Daisy bounced onto it, shuffling forward on her knees to look out the window that was behind the head of the bed. Her fingers inched open the light curtains and revealed more sunlight. Outside, Daisy could see a few dead ambling along the road, but significantly fewer than the dozens that were there the day before.

Seeing that there were not too many dangers visible from her window, Daisy had finally come to the decision that she would leave as her and her friends had planned before the ambush of dead had come upon them. She replaced the curtain and sat on the bed, bringing a duffle bag next to her closer, opening it and digging around.

"Aha!" Daisy exclaimed to no one but herself, brandishing a new bag of chips, this time barbeque flavoured, and opened it, relishing in the crisp hush that sounded as the air was released. She took out a chip and put it in her mouth, crunching it. "Mmm. Can never go wrong with barbeque." Daisy looked towards where the previous empty packet sat in the trash can with distrust.

 **Day 15**

Daisy wiped the sweat off her brow and sighed, looking ahead to the rows upon rows of abandoned cars that littered the highway. It was a strange sight, of such desertion, that she had never seen before. But such sights were now commonplace in this new world. She continued on, ignoring the strain in her legs from walking so far from the city. Daisy had decided just days ago to abandon all hope for Atlanta, and to run from the city, just as Daisy and her friends had planned to before being attacked.

"They just had to all come on this highway, together. One whole fucking side completely without cars, with no way to get one of these hulking pieces of shit _onto_ that side." Daisy lamented, bereft at the fact that there was no way that she could take one of these cars that were pointing towards the once-supposed safe haven, and use it in an effort to leave Atlanta's borders.

Daisy bent over, the hot Georgian heat almost too much to bear. When she looked up and began to amble her way forward, she heard some chatter ahead. Her eyes widened and she quickened her pace, excited at the possibility of seeing another alive person after days of solitude.

Suddenly, without apparent reason, there were screams from the people. Daisy stopped and automatically looked up, wanting to see some sign of impending doom, but there was none. So, she began to run towards the voices. Daisy jogged through the cars, weaving between red and white and black, back-tracking when she noticed a small face peeking out over the other side of the hood of a car.

Daisy let loose a smile and a breath of relief when she noticed that it was a little boy, it seemed like ages since she had seen any person, let alone one much younger than herself. His wide eyes were endearingly innocent, contrasting to the horror found in, presumably his mother's, eyes above him. The woman had come up and seized him to her chest, looking back towards the space above Atlanta, and quickly ran with the boy away from the city, and away from Daisy.

"Hey, wait, what—?" Daisy questioned after the woman with confusion, remaining confused until she turned to look. Just as she turned, there was a series of deafening bangs and great trembles in the road. She dropped to the ground and backed away slowly from the huge cloud of debris and dust that was quickly rising from what was once Atlanta, growing larger and larger with each bang, each bomb dropped by the heavy helicopters soaring overhead.

Daisy turned and scrambled to her feet, feet finding purchase after a few false starts. She quickly rammed into a car door for her fastness, wincing in her pain, but not ceasing her running away from the devastation that was Atlanta.

Behind her she heard more whistling drops and more thunderous landings, but Daisy did not stop. She ran and ran, finally catching up to and passing by the people who had remained on the highway and were now evacuating. There was a stampede of people: young and old, man and woman, blonde and brunette, black and white. Daisy was momentarily distracted by a stunningly garish Hawaiian shirt that seemed so out of place on a man mid-apocalypse, not to mention he was donning a worn fishing hat and a spectacular white beard, but soon regained any momentum that she had lost.

But soon Daisy stopped herself. She realised that she really couldn't lose herself in her panic. So, when she came to the final cars of the highway gridlock, Daisy decided that she would take one of these cars to get her far, far away.

And what luck, the third car that Daisy had tried was unlocked, and the door opened with ease. She quickly sat in the driver's seat and looked around for the keys, praying, _metaphorically_ , that they had been left behind in the rush. Daisy thought for a moment and decided to follow every action movie she had ever seen, and checked above her, flipping down the sun visor, almost crying when no keys fell into her lap. Her head fell forward onto the middle of the steering wheel and her fingers grasped either side. Eyes closed in dramatic sorrow, they finally opened to find that the keys were in the ignition. Daisy's hand came up to slap her forehead.

"Of course…" She muttered bitterly, wide eyes now narrowed, to the steering wheel in front of her. "Way to not play into my fantasies, _Mazda_." Daisy's hand found the keys and turned, and she gave a wry smile when the engine hummed to life. A sharp beeping filled the car. "No!" She yelled, pulling the door shut hard, and snapping her seatbelt on to stop the beeping. "Thank you, _Mazda_." Daisy seemed judgemental of the car for being this brand. She put the car into reverse and beeped the horn at the surrounding crowd, slowly backing out from her spot at the end of the traffic jam.

"Wait!" Daisy heard somewhere to her left. She slammed the brakes and pressed the button beside her to wind down the window. There was a woman, a man and two young children. Daisy narrowed her eyes at them with distrust and raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Please, can we go with you?" The man elaborated. They looked like a weak bunch to Daisy, the man a thin, nerdy ginger, the woman a willowy brunette and the kids, well they were just too short.

But the littles one did have killer puppy dog eyes. Daisy sighed in exasperation and beckoned them into the car. Each of her new car-mates gave her an unwelcomed, radiant smile and they all piled into the car.

As soon as they were all in, she put the car into 'drive' and started on the highway, away from Atlanta. The crowd that had been previously on the highway had dispersed, some running off into the woods, or continuing to run down the road and some were speeding away in stolen cars like Daisy and the family with her was.

"Uh, so…I'm Pete and this is…uh, Maryanne." The man started, nervous of the deadly look Daisy was giving him from his left in the driver's seat. "And our kids are Maeve and Jonah." He pointed to them, first to the somewhat surly teenage girl 'Maeve', and then the small pre-pubescent puppy-dog-eyes boy 'Jonah'.

"I can already tell, this is gonna be just fu—reakin' fantastic." Daisy said sullenly, looking up to the heavens as if to find some reprieve.


	5. Solidarity

**Chapter Five: Solidarity**

 _Solidarity: unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group._

 **Day 15**

They had been driving non-stop for an hour on Interstate 85 out of Atlanta, heading South-West in an effort to find some pipe-dream of a sparsely populated but well-stocked town that could provide some stability in these apocalyptic times. Daisy was tired from the hurried excitement of the bombing of Atlanta that had occurred earlier.

"Hey, uh, Daisy? The kids are tired, do you think we could stay at the next town for the night?" She heard the mother of the family, Maryanne, question from the back reluctantly. Apparently they were just as tired as Daisy was, she thought gratefully.

"Yes! Stop, we shall!" She said with a renewed vigour, sleepy eyes widening in an attempt to keep awake for the remaining half-hour it would take to get there.

"…Yoda." Daisy heard the tiny boy mutter to his sister from the back.

"Yes, _Jonah_ , sound like Yoda, indeed I do!" Daisy smiled at his reflection in the rear-view mirror when there was an answering sleepy giggle. Maryanne, Jonah and Maeve looked to be drifting sleepily in the backseat. Daisy looked beside her at Pete, the father of the family, and saw that he seemed to be unclenching. "What's up there, Hoss?" 'Pete' looked at Daisy, startled. At his questioning look she elaborated, "You've looked like a man with a severe case of constipation, mental or otherwise. You've just unclenched, why?" He looked bashful.

"Well…no offence, but—"

"Oh, no offence. Okay, no offence will be taken here, for the clearly offensive thing you are about to say about me." Daisy gave him a side-eye and a smirk, he looked somewhat fearful.

"Uh…"

"Sorry, do go on."

"Well, that's just it." He said with reluctance. Daisy looked at him with curiosity.

"What's just it?"

"Well…I don't know if you've ever been told this before…but you're kind of abrasive? I mean…as a person?" His voice lilted as if he had asked a question, and when Daisy looked, he seemed as though he expected some type of abuse to be inflicted upon him.

"Hah!" Daisy laughed loudly, causing a stir in the backseat that was quickly calmed by a panicked Pete. "Sorry…it's just, yeah I have been told that before." He still looked vaguely terrified, probably thinking that she would kick him and his family out of the Mazda and onto the road. "Don't worry about it, man. I'm aware of just how…abrasive…I may come across as, especially upon first meeting."

Daisy gave him a bright smile to help assuage his worries, getting a nervous smile in return that now seemed to be typical of him.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're akin to a skittish mouse?" Daisy teased, hoping to comfort him further in any way that her decidedly abrasive personality would allow. Pete laughed nervously.

"Not in so many words…but, yes."

"Ha, you're alright, Pete!" Daisy claimed, channelling her inner-self, shockingly similar to a nameless, gruff old farmer.

 **Half an hour later**

Dusk was beginning to cover the horizon in its pinkish-orange haze, and they had just reached LaGrange, Georgia. Though the town was larger than Daisy would have liked, she figured that if they stayed on the road any longer, she would fall asleep at the wheel. It would be awfully embarrassing to crash a car when there were absolutely no other drivers on the road.

But, they were just going to stay on the edge of town, Daisy had decided after coming across a decidedly seedy-looking motel just off the Interstate. The faithful Mazda pulled into the parking lot and edged into a space in front of the motel reception. Daisy turned her head to look in the back seat at the woman and children that were dozing there. The woman had smooshed her face into the right side window, arms wrapped tightly around herself in a hug, and the two kids were leaning against each other, Jonah on Maeve's shoulder.

"That's just adorable." Daisy said softly to Pete beside her.

"Yeah, I'm a lucky guy." Pete said humbly.

"Get up, losers! We're here!" Daisy shouted into the back seat, the three sleepers now panicked and awake. "Oh, calm down, it was a joke!" Daisy said to Pete after receiving a disbelieving look. "I'm gonna go get some keys for room, go stand outside room five."

"Wh—y five?" Maryanne said around a sleepy, grumpy yawn. Daisy's eyes widened and her head retracted in offense.

"Because I said so, that's why!" She said flatly, turning off the car and getting out, with her trusty shovel in hand.

"Hey…that's my line…" Daisy heard Maryanne call softly from the car, and her lips tugged up in a smirk.

Walking towards the small building that was clearly labelled 'hotel reception', Daisy raised her arms up and her fingers intertwined, pulling to stretch out her stiff limbs. Her arms fell, one catching on the glass door, pushing after seeing the prompt 'push'. A bell tinkled softly above her and Daisy looked up, shooting a glare at the offending object.

Daisy shook her head and continued into the room, shovel trailing in the air behind her, seeing a long, wooden desk and a computer behind that. Her eyes narrowed, not seeing any keys at first glance, but she made her way around the desk and sat at the long-backed chair behind it. After swinging in a full-circle just once, Daisy planted her feet and opened the drawer closest to her. There was a folder of non-descript papers, one, two, three paperclips, a newspaper, the LaGrange Daily News, dated "September 2nd, 1987", for some unknown reason, and finally a leaflet for the "Fifteen Leading Causes of Doggie Diarrhea", which caused Daisy to backtrack and question what kind of secretary owned this desk. But, she digressed.

She closed that somewhat disturbing drawer and was about to reach for the one below that when she heard the tinkling again. Quickly, she raised her head and the shovel above that. False alarm.

"What the f—heck are you doin' here, kid?" It was Jonah. His eyes had widened at seeing her raise the shovel at some unknown threat, so she lowered it and set it against the desk beside her. Daisy walked back around the desk and towards Jonah, pulling the glass door open and nudging him forward with a knee.

"Uh, I wanted to help look."

"No, go to your parents." Daisy said urging him, not wanting the responsibility of caring for a kid who likely can't even tie his own shoes. Daisy looked down, and was gratified when she saw the Velcro. He left reluctantly, dawdling his way to the row of motel rooms his family was standing in front of.

Daisy shook her head, lamenting the amount of times she had done so during this so-called apocalypse. She turned and went back to the desk, celebrating when she opened the second door and was rewarded with an assortment of room keys, rifling around until she had uncovered the keys for rooms five and six.

Finally, Daisy picked up her shovel, heaved it over her shoulder and left the building, making her way past the Mazda and through the parking lot, coming to a stop in front of her new companions. She silently handed the key to Maryanne and continued past them, stopping at the next door to open it with the key.

"Wait—aren't you going to stay with us?" Pete stuttered. Daisy turned and furrowed her brow.

"What, why?"

"It's not safe!" Pete said decisively, head nodding in affirmation. Daisy's eyes looked around the parking lot, seeing not much of anything.

"I...am _pretty_ sure you'll be fine." She said with a reassuring smile.

"Wh—but—?"

"Look, guy, I'm just next door!" Daisy said, she turned the knob and the door swung open. She was surprised when a person fell out.

Daisy screamed in shock, hearing four more screams answer hers. Hearing the grumbling groans of the dead above her, she decided that this man was one of them and quickly brought her hands up, pushing it off of her. Daisy rolled over and onto her hands and knees above her fallen shovel, and picked it up, bringing it above her head. The dead man was crawling towards her, she swung the shovel down and cursed her stupidity when a heavy, dull thud rang out; the shovel was positioned the wrong way for impalement.

Daisy was now on her ass, so she kicked her leg out and caught the dead man in its stomach and turned the shovel so that the sharp end was pointed towards his head. She brought it down once more. The body convulsed, and the body dropped. Daisy could hear herself panting, and she looked over at the family.

They were all astoundingly pale, having backed away and hit the door of room five, the mother had thoughtfully covered Jonah's eyes with him being somewhere around the age of seven. Maeve, Maryanne and Pete could see, however, and it was stunningly clear to Daisy that they had never had such a close encounter, not that they had even encountered this one as such.

"Woo, that was a tough one!" Daisy said lightly with a comforting smile thrown towards them. They all looked towards her in horror. She stood, brushing her pants off and picking her shirt away from her body and cringing at the blood stains that riddled the fabric. Daisy walked towards the door to room six and pulled it softly shut. She turned towards the still-shocked family and took the key to room five from Maryanne's trembling hand, turning to put the key in the lock.

"Wh—?"

"Okay, okay, you were right! It isn't safe!" Daisy interrupted Pete, trying to call them with her light tone and relenting to stay with them. She swung the door open, shovel poised to smack any awaiting surprise, but there was none.

Daisy sighed in relief and entered, leaning the shovel against the wall. She collapsed on the nearest bed and laid like a starfish.

"Uh, where are we all going to sleep?" Pete asked Daisy from somewhere next to her bed. She said nothing, but pointed towards the only other bed in the room. "There are four of us…and only one of you?" He added hesitantly. Daisy turned her head and opened one squinted eye.

"And I have a shovel!" She mumbled. None of the others said anything, so Daisy relented. "Fine, the tall lady and oh Sullen One can share with me, gross boys are relegated to the quarantined area."

"Uh—" Pete mumbled.

"Maryanne and Maeve with me, you and Jonah in that bed." Daisy brought her arms up to fold underneath the pillow under her bed. "Now go to sleep."

"It's only 5:30." Maeve said, the first words Daisy had heard her speak. Daisy's head raised and she looked towards Maeve with a tired smile.

"Dude, you spoke! Nice…" She trailed off and her head hit the pillow once more. "And we're currently in an apocalypse. Go to bed, rest up."

With that, she tucked her legs into her stomach and manoeuvred herself under the covers, rolling to one side to make room for her bed mates. She heard the others moving around, getting into their respective beds, Daisy relaxed and started to dream.

 **Day 16**

There was a heavy thud, and Daisy snorted awake with a start. She looked around wildly, somewhat disturbed to feel what she saw was Maryanne spooning her from behind with a smile. Daisy jumped away and rolled off the bed, Maryanne stirring but not waking. The thud sounded again, now oriented, Daisy could discern that it had originated from the front of the hotel, near the door to the room. Through the faded yellow curtains, she could see numerous shadows dance slowly against the fabric.

Daisy's heart began to thud in her ears, either there was a sudden surge of people on the outskirts of LaGrange, or more likely, a sudden surge of the dead.

"Hey, wake up." Daisy whispered harshly. There was a deep groan coming from the other side of the door, and also from behind her. "Pete, shut the fuck up."

"Wha—no!" Pete protested sleepily.

"Yes! Those face eaters are outside!"

"Face-what?" Maeve mumbled from Daisy's bed.

"The fucking dead people!" Daisy lost her patience and stood, standing by the bed and bending, bouncing it up and down with her hand. Finally, everyone started to stir.

"Wass, goin' on?" Baby Jonah slurred from where he lay. Daisy looked at him and internally cringed.

"The icky bad people are here…and now we have to _get moving, people_!"


	6. Slaughter

**Chapter Six: Slaughter**

 _Slaughter: the killing of a large number of people or animals in a cruel or violent way._

 **Day 16**

"Come on, come on!" Daze whispered in a strained voice, holding the door open as one by one her latest companions exited the motel room. She looked back into the room, fear striking her as she heard the dead scratching at the door and ramming into it. Pete passed her, Jonah in his arms, and Daisy left herself, quietly closing the door behind her.

Daisy looked around, seeing just a few of the dead scattered along the back street and feeling grateful that they had gathered just at the front of the motel. The dead in the street looked up at Daisy and the family, heads sharply tilting and jaws snapping, rising to amble towards them. Maryanne, Pete and their kids were huddled to the right of Daisy, who looked around in search of some escape from the few dead that had remained in the street.

"Go, through that alley." Daisy urged, pointing towards a thin alley that separated two stores across the street. They began to walk hurriedly across the street, making a wide berth around what remained of the corpse that feebly reached out to grab at them. Daisy brought up the rear with her shovel in hand, looking down at the pitiful dead man with narrowed eyes.

In the quiet of the night, Daisy could hear was the harsh growling that seemed to echo all around them, and even stronger was Daisy's own heartbeat in her chest. There was the tapping of shoes on pavement below their feet, coming to a stop in front of Daisy. The stop was so abrupt, that she ran into the back of Pete who stood in front of her.

"What—why'd you stop? Keep going!" Daisy insisted, rising onto the tip of her toes in an effort to see around Pete who was close to a head and a half taller than herself.

"They're here too!" Maryanne squeaked, terrified and pale faced.

"Fuck." Daisy muttered. Her eyes darted around trying to find some escape. She pushed past Pete and his family, looking around to see that there was indeed a hoard of the dead a few yards ahead of them on the road. Undoubtedly hearing their exchange, the closest dead had turned jerkily around, limping towards their prey. Daisy backtracked, pushing the family back towards the other side of the alley.

They all ran back out of the mouth of the alley, Daisy in front leading them along the sidewalk beside the road, past the crowd of the dead that had gathered there in the short minutes they were off the street. The growls sounded closer and closer, the whimpers of Jonah even closer by Daisy's ear.

There was a squeal and a thud, Daisy heard one of her group fall. Sharp screams sounded from behind her and she looked, seeing Maryanne lying on the ground, the dead already mouth-deep in her sternum.

"Fuck, Maeve, c'mon!" Daisy whispered harshly towards the young girl who was standing still, screaming for her mother. Daisy held her arms back behind her, pushing Pete back, who had Jonah held in his arms.

"Mom, please!" Maeve screamed, voice quickly going hoarse. She dropped to her knees and gripped her hair in her hands. The screams continued, drawing the dead away from her mother, but towards Maeve. She looked at them with tear-stained cheeks and a shocked, hopeless expression on her face.

"Maeve, get the _fuck_ up!" Daisy yelled with a heavy voice, reaching towards her. Maeve just looked back to her with that same hopeless face, mouth twisting as the dead began to bite chunks out of her throat. Blood spilled from her lips and her eyes rolled back in pain, screams becoming louder still and resonating around the alley with the growling rumble of the dead crowd.

"Maeve. Maryanne." Pete mumbled weakly, holding Jonah's crying face against his chest. He looks up towards Daisy and narrows his eyes. "We're not going." He said abruptly.

"Woah, woah! What the fuck? We gotta get outta here, Pete."

"No. You gotta get yourself out of here." Pete said strongly, contrasting greatly against his usual quiet stutter. He walked forward, head tilting towards his teenage daughter's body lying broken and bloody on the pavement below him, the dead above her chewing loudly into tough ligaments and teeth scraping against sharp bone. He placed Jonah on the ground, the little boy holding himself with his arms and crying out loudly for his father.

"Oh, God." Daisy murmured, stepping forward, hand reached out to grab at Jonah. Pete knelt down to caress his daughter's still, bloody face, and the dead leapt towards Pete and Jonah, both crying out in terror. Daisy lunged towards Jonah, who was closer, and she grabbed him underneath his arms, holding him to her chest, hand against the back of his head.

Daisy turned her back on the dying Pete and ran away from the dead crowd, and from Pete who was yelling behind his teeth, likely being torn apart like his wife and daughter before him. Jonah's whimpering became louder.

"Ssh, it's okay, buddy." Daisy muttered lowly in his ear, ducking down the next side street away from the mumblings of the crowd of the dead.

 **Day 17**

They had holed up in the kitchen of a somewhat dank and dingy restaurant, Daisy curled around a shivering little Jonah, huddled under a few scavenged tablecloths for warmth. Her eyes drifted open and she looked around their sleeping place, the stagnant air assaulting her senses after such excitement from the night before. Daisy's arms stretched in the air and she sat up, slightly disturbing a sleeping Jonah who murmured in discomfort.

She looked down at a sleeping Jonah with a smile, the innocence of the kid overpowering the horror that she had felt the night before. Despite her previous immersion into this post-apocalyptic terror of a world, she had not seen anything quite as terrible as the slaughter of Jonah's entire family. First his mother, then his sister and his father were killed in quick succession. His father essentially committing suicide, leaving Jonah, not even five years old, alone and helpless with a stranger. Daisy's smile turned to dust, as such thoughts were likely to do. But that wasn't the whole of it.

"Fuck." Daisy whimpered, she fell backwards onto her back again, hands coming up to smash against her forehead and grip at her hairline, then sliding down to cover her eyes. " _Fuck_." She whined, fingers sliding open to peek one eye out of the gap. Daisy was looking towards Jonah who, at a closer glance, had a bright, angry red scratch marring his tiny arm.

One of her hands came down from her face and she picked up his frail, thin arm lightly, turning it back and forth with dread in her eyes. He stirred even more, sleepy eyes blinking open. Jonah's face crumpled as he undoubtedly remembered the fate of his family, at least as much as his five-year-old brain could process.

"Hey, Jonesy Bones. Morning!" Daisy said lightly, trying to delay any emotional outbursts. He looked at her confused at her tone, saying nothing. "So, now that we're all awake…we're gonna get outta this dump!" She said, looking around at the dirty kitchen they had slept in.

"That okay with you?" She asked Jonah, who nodded his head slightly. "Great! C'mon." Daisy stood and held her hand out to him, helping him up from the ground and keeping hold.

She led him out by his hand, the trusty shovel in the other, and they exited the front of the restaurant. Looking out the window, Daisy had seen that none of the dead were lingering on the streets. Walking along the sidewalk, Daisy's eyes darted back to Jonah's arm, red and purple scratch standing out against his pale skin. She pursed her lips and trudged on.

"Where're we goin'?" Jonah muttered softly from behind Daisy, she looked at him in surprise.

"Well, buddy…I think we're gonna find ourselves a car…and then, maybe ditch this town, huh? How 'bout it?" Daisy prompted, sighing when she looked back to see him silently nod again.

So, Daisy scanned the streets for anything that resembled a working car, thinking of what her next action might be. She wasn't entirely sure if a scratch from one of those bastards would be fatal to Jonah, but her recent luck dictated that it certainly couldn't be any good.

 **Day 20**

Soon after leaving the restaurant, Jonah had started to become feverish and weak, sweating profusely in the back seat of the pickup she had commandeered. As such, Daisy had thought that she should stop in the next town that they reached, which ended up being the illustrious town of King County, Georgia. Tires screeched as she had searched the town for a hospital, praising some higher power when it had only taken an hour to reach Harrison Memorial.

Now, Daisy was waiting beside Jonah who she had tucked into one of the hospital beds. She had barricaded the door of Jonah's room, weary of the many fresh bodies lined up wrapped in sheets outside of the entrance to the hospital. But now she was just sitting, one hand rustling the packet of a Twinkie that she had found untouched on the reception desk.

Daisy reached over from the chair that she was sitting in and brushed back the hair on Jonah's sweaty forehead. He whimpered and his limbs strained underneath the thin hospital blanket.

"Hey, kid. You're alright." Daisy hushed him gently, eyes growing sad at the looming fate of Jonah. It seemed to her that the scratch of one of the dead did just as much damage as a bite. The scratch on Jonah's was even more inflamed, puffy red and purple bruises dotting his normally pink skin, weeping yellow and pink sores lining the scratch itself. Daisy had wrapped it tightly in a bandage, flustered and upset in her lack of real medical knowledge. But the blood and the pus had oozed out and stained the bandage yellow.

Daisy was at a loss. It looked as though Jonah was sleeping now, but he had been constantly tossing and turning in pain, sluggish in his fever. She looked away in guilt, standing up to throw the Twinkie packet in the trash can in the corner of the room. The slight smile that the fevered Jonah had given her at the offer to split the Twinkie had made her happy in this trying time.

She sat back down in her chair beside his bed, and brought her legs up to wrap her arms around. It was easy for Daisy to forget that she was just twenty-three in this new world. With the five-year old boy that had been thrust into her care slowly dying before her, Daisy felt hundreds of years older than she had not even a month before.

Daisy looked up at Jonah, seeing that he was now looking at her with dazed eyes. She leant in closer, hand coming up to catch his arm that had reached out wildly towards her.

"Mommy?" Jonah whispered hoarsely, Daisy's eyes widening in shock and her face crumpled in sadness.

"Mmm, yeah, Jonah?" She managed.

"Can I hab'a peanu'…sand'ich?" He stuttered.

"Sure, kid." Daisy said softly and flatly, as she tended to do in an effort to suppress strong emotion.

"Bu' firs' cuddles?"

" _Fuck_." Daisy whispered under her breath, too quiet for Jonah to hear. This was just too much for even her hard heart to bear. Her hand came up to cover her mouth, dropping after a moment. She stood. "Sure, Jonesy."

Daisy slid herself onto the bed beside Jonah, careful of his bandaged arm, and put an arm under his head, cuddling him to her chest. She looked down at him snuggled into her with a tired smile, and closed her eyes. Her heart jumped in her chest and her throat tightened, eyes closing over sudden tears.


	7. Inertia

**Chapter Seven: Inertia**

 _Inertia: a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged._

 **Day 21**

Daisy knelt down, large white sheet-wrapped bundle in her arms that her fingers tightened around. She took a deep breath in and softly placed the bundle on the ground. There was a bloody circle near the top of the sheet, and tiny, bruised purple toes peeking out from the other end, the only way of identifying that it was Jonah who was wrapped so tightly within. Daisy looked down at Jonah's wrapped body and looked around at the countless others that lay still in the parking lot of Harrison Memorial Hospital, and her eyes hardened.

 _Life just wasn't fair_ , she thought. _That she could live while all these people just lay here, while Jonah lay here_. Her head bowed down and her eyes closed tightly. Frustrated wrinkles in her forehead smoothed over and her eyes reopened, cold. Then she silently stood, glancing down at Jonah's tiny body before making her way back into the hospital doors.

"God damn it." She whispered, narrowing her eyes at the banging doors to her left, locked tightly with a chain. "'Don't dead, open inside'…that's so fucking stupid."

Daisy came to the door of the room that she and Jonah had shared for the night and stopped. Her hand came up to rest on the painted wood, scratching lightly at a crack in the paint, lip curling in unease.

"Fuck." Daisy muttered, shaking her head and turning away from the door. She turned and rested her back against the door, sliding down to sit down and hug her knees to her chest. The poorly labelled door banged again, the dead could be heard softly moaning from behind.

"Shut the hell up, you goddamn dead bastards!" Daisy snapped in the general direction of the aforementioned bastards.

She stood in a huff and made her way further away from the groaning door, slamming open the door to the next hospital room after pushing a gurney out of her way. Daisy stopped when she saw that it was already occupied.

"Oh, sorry, dude." She said absentmindedly, backing away out of the room, but then she stopped in confusion and her face scrunched. "What?"

There was a man lying in the hospital bed, IV still leading fluid from a hanging bag to his elbow. Save the not-so insubstantial, patchy stubble that grew wild on his face, the man looked as if he was just sleeping. Not dead at all.

Daisy looked around the room, noting the wilting flowers that sat on the bedside table and the cards that stood open on the dresser beside her. She stepped back into the room and closed the door behind her and picking up the card closest to her. A small smirk made its way to her lips as she saw that there were what looked like three sick peas in a pod, above them was the caption, 'PEAS GET WELL SOON!'

"Hah, peas…" Daisy smirked wider. She set the card back where it had been before and walked towards the man who slept in the bed, who looked to be in some sort of coma. At the foot of the bed there was a clipboard hanging from the rail which she picked up.

"'Rick Grimes', huh?" She rhetorically asked the man in the coma. "Nice to meet you, Grimey!" Her nose scrunched, she continued, "No, I don't like that, man. I'm just gonna call you Rick."

Daisy sighed, a bit upset at the fact that her only company was a guy in a coma. She sat in the chair beside the hospital bed and kicked her feet up to rest beside him.

"Nothin' better to do…"

 **Day 32**

"So, anyway, she said, 'Dude, you didn't even date him outside your own head, I don't think the Girl Code applies.' I mean, what? That's ridiculous…of course it does." Daisy shook her head, leaning up to attach a fresh bag to her comatose pal Rick's IV, which she had started doing regularly as soon as his first one had run out after she had come across him.

"But, I digress…" Daisy sighed and fell back into her chair. One hand came down to sightlessly grasp around at her duffle bag that sat beside her on the floor. The hand came back with a brightly wrapped candy bar clutched in eager fingers, which brought the chocolate to her lap to rip open.

"You like Peanut Butter Cups?" Daisy asked the unconscious Rick, nodding and humming to the quiet air. "What am I talking about, of course you do. Everyone likes PB cups…"

Daisy sighed, looking bored while eating the melted chocolate peanut butter mess. "You should wake up…" She continued with a slightly hopeful look.

 **Day 50**

"Hey!" Daisy shouted near the man's face, but to no avail. Rick continued in his comatose state. "Shit. I thought that might've worked…" She looked down at him with narrowed, suspicious eyes. "Oh, crap…did you die while I was gone?"

Daisy leant her head forward, eyes darting around the room. Her hand came up and her fingers clasped his wrist, her thumb against his pulse.

"Oh, thank God!" She exclaimed as she felt a small thump. Daisy breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in her chair. "You had me going there, Rick." She scratched the back of her neck with a sheepish look towards him, startled when she saw that his eyes were open and looking up towards the ceiling.

"Whoa, Rick!" Daisy exclaimed, rising up from her chair to lean over him. His eyes continued to stare up at nothing, she waved her hand vaguely in the air above him, with no response.

"Rick?" She asked, getting only a few slow blinks and eventually his eyes shut again. "What…?"

Daisy hadn't had much experience with comatose people, but from what she had heard, they didn't just snap out of it like movies would have you believe. So, she settled back into her chair and swiped up her current book, _11.22.63_ , and began to slowly read, glancing up every now and then to check for any signs of him waking again.

 **Day 59**

There was a loud crashing bang that sounded from the end aisle of a dilapidated Walmart. Daisy cringed from where she was crouching, the offending pots and pans now on the ground in front of her, and one bowl slowly circled around and around until it fell on its side. Her eyes darted to look towards the front of the store, seeing the sole dead man slowly cracking his neck to look over towards where the crash originated from.

It stared at her with lifeless eyes and began to twist and turn its stiff limbs around, rising from where it had been snacking on a half-decomposed young lady and meandering towards Daisy.

"Ugh, crap." Daisy shook her fist slightly at the pots before her with disappointment and stood, turning towards the dead man that was coming for her. She raised a shiny new hunting knife in front of her, poised for the killing, and waited the few moments for the slow-moving dead person to reach her.

A sickening crunch was heard as the sharp knife landed home in its skull, Daisy shuddering as she kicked one foot up to push the thing down to the ground so she could pull the knife back out.

"That never gets any easier…" She lamented to herself, looking back to the pans with renewed hate, "Fucking pots and pans, never liked cooking with you anyway…loud bastards."

Reluctantly, Daisy picked up a small pot and attached it with a thin piece of rope to the backpack that was now fastened over her shoulders. She made her way down the long rows of the Walmart and stopped at the line of cash registers, giving an apologetic look towards the figurative ghosts of cashiers past, before continuing to the glass doors at the front of the store. It still felt weird to her, stealing everything you needed.

Looking around the street, Daisy saw no dead people lurking around, so she warily made her way to the truck that she had commandeered. She opened the creaking door and threw her backpack onto the passenger's seat, wincing at the crashing sound that followed, and lifted herself up into the car.

The engine came to life with a splutter, and Daisy drove the few blocks back to the hospital. It was easier driving now, post-apocalypse, with there being only a few abandoned cars and loitering dead to dodge. No traffic at all…which was ultimately a good thing, though sad if you thought any deeper about it.

A grunt from the engine signified its stop as she pulled into the parks on the side of the road at the back of the hospital. She had begun using a side entrance that she had found, with their being less chance of encountering any of the stray dead.

After some walking, Daisy came to the room that she had camped in, the next one down from coma-guy's and made to open the door before she stopped. The gurney that she had come into the habit of pushing back where she had found it, in front of Rick's door, had been pushed away. At first she came to the conclusion that one of the dead had managed to make their way into the hospital hall, but upon further inspection she realised that the door to the room was swinging slightly from a breeze, open.

Daisy pushed the gurney even further out of her way and warily pushed the door open fully, her mouth raised in a wince. The room was empty. She poked her head further in and saw that the bed's blankets were strewn across the floor and the IV pole was flat on its side.

"Fuck." Daisy exclaimed. Her hands came up to tangle in her hair and she entered the room more, looking around frantically from where she stood. There was no evidence of any blood stains on the ground, but maybe one of the dead had come in and turned Rick. She poked her head into the adjoining bathroom, but found nothing. "How the hell do you lose a guy in a coma?" Daisy yelled at herself, face palming with too much force, wincing at the sting.

"Okay…okay." Daisy muttered to herself. "Gotta go find Rick, he's your responsibility. Probably fine, he even looked at me just the other day. Just woke up, is all…"

Her hands pulled at the straps of her backpack and she left the room, making her way down the opposite end of the hall, towards the adjoining hall that had the Cafeteria door with the weirdly structured writing on it, 'don't dead open inside'.

Daisy passed the groaning door in a hurry and burst through the nearby door to the stairwell, skipping down a few stairs at a time after finding the flashlight that had ended up at the bottom of her bag.

After a few flights she came upon the door to the outside and pushed it open, skipping down the few stairs there.

"Yo, Rick!" She yelled into the open air, predictably getting no answer. Daisy sighed and she walked through the rows of wrapped bodies, brushing flies from her face in uneasy disgust. "He can't have gotten far…"

Daisy stumbled up the short hill next to the hospital and through all of the military cars and helicopters that had camped there before evidently being overrun. She had almost given up hope when she saw a man stumbling along the road a ways ahead of her. "Oh shit…" Daisy mumbled.

"Rick!" She shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify the sound. The man startled and tripped up on unstable feet. Daisy picked up her pace and ran towards him, Rick had turned around confusedly, eyes squinting at the bright sunlight. She caught up to him with a relieved smile and bent down to catch her breath.

"Whoa, thank shit I found you!" Rick looked at her warily, eyes wide, presumably at the deserted world around them as well as Daisy herself.

"You're pretty sneaky for a guy in a coma!"


	8. Reality

**Chapter Eight: Reality**

 _Reality: the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them._

 **Day 59**

Daisy stood in front of the stunned, newly awakened Rick, still trying to subtlety catch her breath after that short burst of running.

"I know you?" Rick asked Daisy.

"No! I'm Daisy…" Daisy gave him a wide, closed smile, hands clasping in front of her as she tried to think of how to explain the shit storm that they were now in, that Rick was doubtlessly unaware of. "You don't know me. But, I know you! Rick Grimes: King County's Sheriff Deputy, gunshot wound to the armpit. Read it on your, uh, chart thing."

Daisy gave an awkward shrug and Rick continued to look at her confusedly, eyes narrowed.

"That's gotta suck man…armpit, ugh!" Daisy gave a sympathetic wince and continued to stare at him, hoping for some response. He just continued to stare at her, eyes darting around to look at the empty world around them.

"What happened?" Rick interjected suddenly. Daisy's mouth twisted in sympathy at what he had yet to learn.

"It's…all gone." She began hesitantly. "We've been basically post-apocalypse for about two months." Daisy nodded with wide eyes.

"Post-what?" He sounded disbelieving.

"Yeah, didn't you notice all those bodies lined up outside the hospital? The military base set up just over that hill? The complete lack of other alive human beings? 'Cept me, of course." Daisy gave him a weary but comforting smile. Rick's hands came up to run through his admittedly greasy and unwashed coma-hair.

"You okay, dude?" Daisy asked, despite the obviousness of his distress.

"My family, you know if they're okay?" His eyes looked at her pleadingly.

"Sorry…I don't know them? I only came across you about a month and a half ago, there was no one with you. We could go look for them?" Daisy suggested, with Rick giving a slight nod in reply to where he was staring off into the distance. "Great! Where d'you think they would be?"

"Home." Rick mumbled, and Daisy gave an affirmative nod before starting back towards the hospital.

"Come on. I already have a car hot-wired." Daisy beckoned him with one hand. Looking back, she saw that he stared at her with a concerned look. Her eyes widened in realisation and she continued, "I mean, my car…that I own…it's parked around the back of the hospital, Deputy Grimes!" Daisy finished with a hopeful smile. Rick scoffed and shot an amused smirk at Daisy, following along behind her.

"We can, uh, find you some clothes too…can't be walking around with your ass hanging out all day." Daisy chuckled.

Behind her, Rick's head whipped towards her indignantly.

"My ass is not hanging out!" Daisy gave a bark of laughter.

"Well, okay…I mean, granted in it is in boxer shorts! But still…" She conceded with an amused grin.

 **Later at the Grimes' House**

"Sorry, bud. I don't think there's anyone here." Daisy said reluctantly to the saddened Rick, who was choking on a sob after hearing no reply to his calls of 'Lori' and 'Carl'.

He was crouched down in the middle of what had been his living room before all this, looking down at the floor with a distant gaze. The house was despairingly empty, dust was undisturbed and there were bright squares of wall that looked like they were once covered with pictures that were now missing.

"Is this real?" Rick murmured softly to himself, voice catching on the words.

"Rick?" Daisy's strong voice cut through the silence. Hearing this, he startled and seemed to snap out of his stupor, looking on the verge of tears. Maybe if Daisy hadn't been there, he wouldn't have snapped out of it.

"They're not here." Rick stated obviously, looking up at her with pleading eyes.

"Yeah, but…uh, maybe they went to one of the safe zones?" Daisy suggested. "There was one in Atlanta, I mean, before it got bombed…"

Rick turned to look at her in shock, before she back-tracked, "I mean, if they were there, they probably got out before then! We can go to Atlanta, look around for them?" He sighed, tired from the day that he had had thus far, the first out of a long coma nonetheless. Rick stood from his crouch, folding back in on himself and touching the bandage on his side with a slight wince.

"Yeah." Rick agreed, slowly walking past Daisy and out the wide open front door of the house. Daisy continued to stand where she was for a while, looking around the abandoned house apprehensively. She took a deep breath and turned to follow Rick when she heard a dull thud and a yell.

"Daddy! Daddy!" She heard from the front yard. "Daddy, I got the sumbitch I'mma smack him dead!"

"Fuck me, what now coma guy?" Daisy managed to mutter exasperatedly with wide, panicked eyes, already sensing a trend with Rick's luck. She rushed out the door to see Rick on the ground, a kid standing over him holding a shovel up in the air.

Daisy looked incredulously at the kid, then a loud gunshot made her jump. Her head snapped up to see who she presumed was the kid's father walking towards them, and away from the dead man he had just shot down. She continued to stand still in both fear of the man with the gun, and in shock at seeing another person alive after so long.

"He say something? I thought I heard him say something?" The man asked the kid.

"He called me Carl."

"Son, you know they don't talk."

"Hey, mister! S'that bandage for?" Rick's head raised up a fraction, but Daisy couldn't hear him from where she was standing on the porch.

"What kinda wound? You answer me, damn you! What's your wound? You tell me, or I _will_ kill you."

The man cocked his gun, and Daisy startled forward. She saw Rick's head hit the ground again in a faint.

"Whoa, what the fuck, man?" Daisy shouted, moving towards the unknown man. He swung the gun around to point at her and she stopped in her place, hands raising in surrender.

"His wound? It's a gunshot, happened before all this! He was a cop, got shot tryna stop some bad guys or something!"

The man narrowed his eyes at her thoughtfully, the kid moved behind him.

"Look, put the gun down." Daisy's hands came down a little in a calming gesture. "Dude, I think outta the two of us, it's you who I can't trust." She raised her brow at him expectantly, to which he reluctantly holstered his gun.

"Now, can we get outta the street?" Daisy asked, gesturing towards the few dead that had begun to roam down from the next block over. The man gave a short nod and knelt down by Rick's feet, holding onto them and looking up at Daisy then nodding his head for her to grab the other end of him.

Daisy made her way down the narrow path from the house and knelt down, grabbing Rick under the arms and heaving him up with the man.

"I'm Morgan." He said shortly as he led them down the street. Daisy looked up at him and nodded.

"Daisy." She said. Daisy looked towards the kid, silently asking for his name.

"Duane." The kid said softly, following after them, keeping near his father. Daisy gave him an amused smirk.

"Well, Duane, I'd say it's nice to meet you…but you just knocked my pal Rick here over the head with a shovel!"

 **That night, at Morgan and Duane's Hideout**

"Are you tryna be funny, punk?" Daisy narrowed her eyes at the giggling boy.

"No!" He tried to say with a serious look, smile breaking through.

"You like _Superman_ more than _Batman_!"

"Yes!"

"Wh—why the heck would you think that?" Duane gave her a doubtful look.

"Superman can fly."

"Batman can fly!" Daisy rebutted, Duane looked at her confusedly.

"No, he can't!"

"Yeah he can! I mean, technically it's gliding…"

"Oh, you mean falling." Duane reasoned.

"No. Flying." Daisy would not relent.

"Falling…with style?" He compromised, and Daisy gave him an impressed look.

"Toy Story, nice reference!" She complimented him, he gave her a wide smile in return.

Heavy footsteps sounded coming down the stairs in the next room, they both looked up to see Morgan enter the room.

"You two doin' alright in here?" He looked amused at the pair, despite any distrust that Daisy knew he still felt towards her and Rick.

"No, we are not. Your boy here likes Superman over Batman!" She informed him. "Now I'm sure you didn't mean to give him such a poor education on the finer details of our Dark Knight, but this is something that must be addressed." Daisy gave him a mockingly serious look, getting a flat look in return which lightened at the sound of his son's renewed giggles.

"Well, I don't know about all that, but I thought you should know that your friend's awake." Morgan enlightened them.

"Rick!" She said unnecessarily, turning to Duane to continue, "We will continue our conversation later." Daisy gave him a cautious stare, rising to walk backwards out of the room. They held their mock stare until Daisy ran back into Morgan's shoulder, she looked at him with exaggerated fear until he gave an indulgent smile at them both.

"Go." Morgan ordered her with a tired but fond shake of his head. "And you, don't think I don't know you haven't finished your reading yet!" Duane's eyes widened and he scrambled to get the book that his father had given him.

Daisy gave a small smile to the two of them and continued to the stairs, no longer walking backwards. She reached the door to where Rick was laying and gave a quiet knock.

"Come in." She heard Rick call softly to her.

The door opened with a creak and she smiled to see Rick conscious again, laying with his head propped up on some pillows.

"Hey there, friend." Daisy said in a happy tone. She looked around the room and noted the lack of ropes around his limbs. "Morgan said he'd tie you up, glad to see he heard me when I told him that was entirely unnecessary. I mean, how does a bullet hole look like a bite in any way?" She reasoned. He furrowed his brow at her.

"Yeah, a bite. Morgan said that if it had been a bite, I woulda had a fever by now. What'd he mean?"

Daisy entered the room fully, sitting at the foot of the bed on an empty space. She realised that she may not have entirely explained their current situation.

"Uh, yeah. You remember that girl in the park? And the guy on the street, just before?" She started, Rick nodded slightly in reply. "I said that the dead were coming back to life, hungry for people?" He nodded again, looking to be in slight disbelief at that.

"That's how you turn." Daisy said, "If they bite you, or…uh, scratch you as well, I've learned," She remembered little Jonah and that goddamn scratch on his arm, "then you get a fever and die, come back as one of them."

Daisy narrowed her eyes at the air and looked to the side, after a while determining that to be a sufficient explanation.

"So, Morgan thought I'd been bit, and that I'd turn." Rick queried with a blank stare. Daisy gave a firm nod in return. "How the hell'd all this happen?"

"Uh, no one knows…I mean no one I've met. One day everything was normal, then the next dead people were rising and chowing down on your friends." Daisy ended with a wry, upset smile. Rick stared at her contritely.

"You've lost people?" He asked her.

"Uh, yeah. When this all started I was with my friends…me and my friend Jess got separated from the rest. Turned out, she'd been bit, so I had to put her down…I haven't found the others yet." Daisy gazed down at the ground, heavy sigh escaping her lips.

"And your family?"

"The day this all started I got a call from my brother, his dealer had turned and attacked him. But I think that Nick got out okay. My mom called, told me about the dead rising and said that I should get somewhere safe…but the phone cut out before long and…I don't know what happened to them." She took a steadying breath. "I mean, they're in LA for fuck's sake, how the hell am I gonna know if they're okay or not?"

Rick sat up and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, Daisy looked over at him in gratitude.

"You'll find your family, Daisy. I know it." His drawling accent was a comfort and she huffed a laugh at him.

"And you'll find yours." Daisy sounded surer of herself than she thought she should be.

"Together." Rick said firmly.

Daisy stared at him with studying eyes, and her mouth widened in a smile. For the first time since losing her friends, she felt that everything might be okay in the end.


	9. Inauguration

**Chapter Nine: Inauguration**

 _Inauguration: the beginning or introduction of a system, policy, or period._

 **Day 59**

Daisy was sitting at the dining table of Morgan and Duane's hideout, eager for the canned beans that Morgan had cooked up for dinner. The smell wafted in from the kitchen and Daisy thought that she had never smelled something quite so beautiful. A content smile lifted her face and she turned to Duane who sat opposite her.

"You like beans?" She asked tentatively, struggling to find a relevant topic of conversation. Duane gave her an odd look and an indifferent shrug. "Yeah, me too…but, a girl's gotta eat. Smells good, though."

Morgan entered the room, heavy silver pot in covered hands. He sat it on the table and both Daisy and Duane stood, holding out their bowls for Morgan to ladle in a scoop of beans. A scuffling sound came from the next room and the three looked up to see Rick ambling in, blanket huddled around his shoulders. There was an awkward silence, Daisy saw that Duane looked to his father for guidance and she looked at Rick with a welcoming smile.

She sat back down in her chair, Duane sitting opposite her, as Rick continued to shuffle through the room and to the next.

"This place. Fred and Cindy Drake's." Rick's tired voice came from behind Daisy, which she turned to look towards. Morgan followed him into the room and Daisy took that as meaning they were going to talk, so she turned her body around in her chair and leant her head on her hands that gripped the back of the chair, watching them silently.

"Never met 'em." She heard Morgan reply.

"I've been here. This is their place."

"It was empty when we got here. Don't do that." Daisy saw that Rick had begun to pull the makeshift curtain away to look out of the window. "They'll see the light. There's more of them out there than usual. I never should have fired that gun today. Sound draws them, now they're all over the street. _Stupid_ , usin' a gun. It all happened so fast, I didn't think."

Morgan came back into the dining room and sat down in his chair, moving the metal pot out of the way.

"You shot that man today." Rick started, sounding disapproving to say the least. Daisy's lip tugged up in a sympathetic look, it seemed that the idea of the dead walking had yet to become fully absorbed into Rick's mind.

"Man?" Morgan questioned with disbelief.

"Weren't no man!" Duane interjected, Morgan turned to look at him with raised eyebrows.

"What the hell was that out your mouth just now?" Morgan demanded of his son.

"It wasn't a man." Duane corrected himself, and Daisy looked between the father and son with a brightly amused smile. Daisy loved the idea of Morgan continuing to teach his son in such matters even after the end of civilisation.

"You shot him, in the street, out front. A man." Rick came closer, leaning forward with his expression growing more intense and judgemental.

"For him, you need glasses. That was a walker." Morgan looked up at Rick with examining eyes. "Come on. Sit down, before you fall down. Here." He scooped some beans into a bowl and Rick sat down in his chair.

"Daddy, blessing." Duane reminded his father. Morgan turned his head back towards Rick.

"Yeah." He said shortly, continuing after the four had joined hands around the table, Rick being slightly reluctant and uncertain, only grabbing Morgan and Duane's hands after a pointed look from the kid, "Father, we thank thee for this food, Thy blessings. We ask you to watch over us in these crazy days. Amen."

"Amen." Daisy and Duane echoed.

They all started to eat in silence, it only being broken when Morgan sat forward and asked, "Hey mister, you even know what's goin' on?"

"I woke up today." Rick said with a quiet voice. "In a hospital. Left and soon after Daisy found me." He looked up to her with a small, tired smile. "Seems she'd been lookin' after me for a while… changin' my IV. That's how I survived. Then we went to my home, to look for my wife and son. They weren't there."

"But you know about the dead people, right?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, I saw a lotta that. Out on the loading dock, hauling trucks."

"Nah, not the ones they put down. The ones they didn't. The walkers. Like the one I shot today. Cause he'd a ripped into you. Tried to eat you, taken some flesh at least."

"Mmm, yeah we saw a couple." Daisy interjected, all looking towards her. "This one gnarly lady, cut straight in half, dragging herself around the park. Couple walking around, too. Told Rick what they were when I was up there earlier, the dead come back to life, trying to eat people." Daisy gave a dark chuckle, looking down into her bowl, swirling the contents around with her spoon. "Not a hundred percent sure he believed me, though. I mean, I know I wouldn't…even with seeing those couple of…walkers, you call 'em?"

Daisy looked up to Rick, questioning with her eyes as to whether he did. His brow furrowed further and he nodded slightly, looking down.

"They're out there now, in the street?" Rick questioned after a short, heavy silence.

"Yeah. They get more active after dark sometimes. Maybe it's the cool air, or, Hell, maybe it's just me firing up that gun today. But we'll be fine, long as we stay quiet. Probably wander off by morning. Listen, one thing I do know, don't you get bit. I saw your bandage and that's what we were afraid of. Bites kill you. The fever burns you out, but then, after a while, you come back."

"Daisy told me…said that it had happened to her friend, and that another had died from a scratch." Rick trailed off. Morgan looked to Daisy for confirmation.

"Scratches too…good to know." Morgan gave a short nod to them.

"I seen it happen, too." Duane added, and Daisy sighed in empathy.

"Come on." Morgan told his son softly with a comforting smile, touching his shoulder with a light pat.

There was another silence, this time longer, and they began to eat again. Daisy savoured the taste of the warm food as she had done for the past two months, constantly unsure in this new life that any would be available in the future.

 **Later**

They had reconvened to the living room, Morgan and Duane lying on a double mattress on the floor and Daisy and Rick each having their own singles arranged haphazardly around each other.

"Carl." Morgan stated suddenly. Daisy's head turned up away from the book she was reading to look at him, Rick's doing the same. "He your son? Well, yeh—you said his name today." After a short pause, Rick answered.

"He's a little younger than your boy."

"And he's with his mother?"

"I hope so."

There was a short pause before Morgan started talking again, "Daisy says you're a Sheriff's deputy?" Daisy could see Duane's head raise slightly in interest.

"Yeah." Rick said with a slight smile.

All of them startled as an alarm suddenly pierced through the silence, with Duane jumping the most. He sat up and his father quickly followed him, arms bringing him back against his chest.

"Hey, it's okay, daddy's here." Morgan comforted his son. "It's nothing. One of them must've bumped a car."

"You sure?" Rick questioned.

"Happened once before. Went off in a few minutes." Morgan and Rick both rose from their beds. "Get the light, Duane."

Duane hurriedly did so and Daisy turned off of her stomach and sat up on her mattress. The room darkened as the squealing knob was turned by Duane and the alarm continued to wail. Rick went over and turned the other light off, then both he and Morgan walked to the window to pull the curtain back slightly to look outside at the street below.

"It's the blue one, down the street. Same one as last time. Think we're okay."

Daisy saw in the dark that Duane was scrambling off the bed and going over to the window to peek out beside the others, so she followed him and knelt down, parting the blinds with two hands. The lights of the car flashed outside and a few dozen walkers meandered around the street, she could hear them growl faintly along with the alarm.

"That noise. Won't it bring more of 'em?" Rick asked Morgan.

"Nothin' we can do about it now. Just have to wait 'em out till morning."

"She's here." Duane gasped beside Daisy.

Morgan startled and looked down at his son and Daisy who kneeled next to him. "Don't look. Get away from the windows." Duane did not move. "I said go! Come on!"

Duane strode quickly back to the mattress and through himself down, weeping loudly into the bed. Daisy fell back onto her own bed and looked towards the boy with immense concern.

"Quiet. Come on, quiet." Morgan sat beside his son and leaned into him, comforting him with a hand on his back. He shushed him softly and looked around. Daisy distractedly saw that Rick had moved around to the front door and was now looking out of the peep hole.

"It's okay, here. Cry into the pillow. You remember?" Morgan looked up at Rick who was still staring through the hole at something, though Daisy did not know what. There was a muffled clicking sound, the door knob slowly turned back and forth, though the locked door did not open. Rick backed away and sat back on his bed.

"She, uh, she died in the other room, on that bed. Nothin', I can do about it. That fever, man. Her skin gave off heat like a furnace. Shoulda—shoulda put her down, I shoulda put her down, I know that, but. You know what, I just didn't have it in me. She's the mother of my child." Morgan sighed in his upset, looking down at the head of his son in his lap.

Daisy's eyes darted around and she lay back in her bed. She pulled the covers out from under her and threw them over herself, snuggling in with a tight, frustrated blink. Her eyes opened again and she turned to lay on her side, facing Duane who was still crying into the pillow. She gave a sad sigh and closed her eyes tightly, hoping for sleep.

 **Day 60**

It was the next morning and the four exited the house, Rick with a splash mask and a baseball bat, ready for his first kill. Daisy stood at the end of the line, hands clasped in front of her in worry.

"Are we sure they're dead? I have to ask, just one more time."

"They're dead. Except for something in the brain. That's why it's gotta be in the head."

They walked along the path from the house, gaining the attention of Rick's target. The walker that sat at the end of the fence between this yard and the next stood on wobbling feet and turned towards them. Its white eyes stared at them, almost with intent. It stumbled towards them, and Rick started forward, promptly hitting it in the face with a dull thud.

The walker remained standing, the growling increased and Rick swung the bat again and again. It dropped to its knees, and then fell to the ground after another hit. Rick swung the bat down at its head again, the hardest hit yet, but it had caused him to fall to his knee in pain. He knelt up and gripped his side with one arm wrapped around his stomach.

"You alright?" Morgan asked, him, Daisy and Duane came around to Rick's side.

"Need a moment." Rick managed, still holding his wound tightly.

"I can—?" Daisy started, but Rick shook his head and managed to stand upright with his bat trailing beside him. The walker continued to growl faintly, seemingly unable to move any further than a few inches from where it was on the ground. Rick steadied himself and gave a final swing, the heavy thud breaking through the walker's skull and stopping the weak growling.

"Shit, nice one, Rick." Daisy praised him, giving an appreciative smile down towards his kill, she glanced up at him and narrowed her eyes. "Maybe a wrong choice with the white shirt though, bud." He glanced down to see blood splattered all over the aforementioned shirt, nose crinkling in disgust. Daisy chuckled and walked back down the path, the others following her to come go back inside the house, away from the walker body that continued to lay still, head caved in and leaking blackened blood onto the dewy grass.


	10. Decontamination

**Chapter Ten: Decontamination**

 _Decontamination: the process of cleansing an object or substance to remove contaminants such as micro-organisms or hazardous materials._

 **Day 60**

Daisy's commandeered truck stuttered to a halt in front of the King County Police Station, all four occupants inside slamming back into their seats. She gave an apologetic smile to the others and released the handbrake, yanking the keys from the car.

"Pretty sure even I could drive better than her…" Duane mumbled in the backseat. Daisy's head whipped around and she gave him a playful glare.

"I heard that, Duane! Next time, you can walk…"She said, shaking her head in mock disappointment and slamming her rusted car door open with a slam of her shoulder. There was a harrowing squeal as the door swung fully open, and she dropped down from the towering height of the truck, waiting to the side for the others to join her.

Three more successive squeaking doors later, Daisy, Rick, Morgan and Duane made their way from the car to the station's side entrance. Rick took the lead and opened the door, they all stood back as it revealed the dark hall of the station. Nothing was visible save two lone coffeepots sitting together on a bench, which Daisy narrowed her eyes at for their blatant mundanity.

Rick turned on his beaming flashlight and shone it down the hall as they all followed him. They made their way through the station, each with a flashlight in hand, shining the light in each room that they passed, cautious for any unexpected walkers.

A few twisting halls later, Rick had led them through a locker room then to a bathroom. Duane and Daisy hung around the door, Daisy leaning her elbow on his shoulder, as Rick and Morgan investigated the showers. Rick turned the knob and water spluttered out, the pipes groaning with the apparent effort. Daisy became hopeful—finally, a fucking shower. That was something that she never thought she would miss.

"Gas and light have been down for, maybe a month." Morgan informed Rick, and Daisy's hopes were dashed. She slumped over Duane with a groan, who just giggled quietly and pushed her away.

"Station's got its own propane system." Rick countered as he held his hand on the apparently hot water. "Pilot's still on." He confirmed with a nod.

Daisy's hands came up in fists in front of her face, which had screwed up in happiness. "Oh, thank you, shower god." She mumbled as she moved forward, dashing her hand through the luxuriously warm water. "I'm first." Daisy declared.

There were three simultaneous protests, but they were silenced when Daisy gave them a serious, wide-eyed stare. All three shrunk down and skulked out to sit in the hall outside as Daisy gave a happy smile, shucking off clothes to step into the shower stall, hot water warming her skin.

A short five minutes later, Daisy finished up in the shower, rushed along by a shout from Duane through the door for her to hurry up. She rolled her eyes with a fond smile and shut the water off, picking up a towel from the bench to dry herself off. Another knock prompted her to just wrap the towel around her, reluctantly pick up her still-dirty clothes and push open the bathroom door.

Daisy passed Duane who was buzzing with excitement just outside the door and looked down to see Morgan and Rick sitting against the wall with similar dispositions that accurately portrayed that they had experienced similar situations with their respective wives.

"I'm finished, you sad sacks." Daisy said with an amused huff, ushering the three into the bathroom.

Soon, she heard the showers turn on and shouts emanated from the room. Daisy laughed at them and quickly dried off and then dressed in her old jeans and her long-time favourite long-sleeved, striped shirt. A sigh sounded in the room and Daisy tied her wet hair up in a messy ponytail and dropped to the floor, sitting where Rick and Morgan had been before.

Daisy sat for a short moment before curiosity drove her to investigate the station around her. She stood and sidled along the wall to an adjoining hall, and entered into a room that was filled with desks, most haphazardly pushed against walls. There was evidence of owners to these desks, most had photo frames depicting happy families, one notably had a mug filled with old coffee claiming the owner to be the 'World's Best Dad'. Not to dispute that fact, but she had gotten a similar mug for her own father years previously…one of them had to be a lie.

Daisy shook the depressing thoughts of her father and his disputable World's Best Dad status, eyes catching on the nearest desk, which had a framed picture of Rick and some men that she didn't know, all in police uniforms. She picked it up and studied it with a smirk, noting that Rick's arm was around a man with curly black hair, a large nose and disconcerting smirk. Save the smirking man, all of the officers had bright smiles, looking at the camera with a genuine happiness that Daisy respected.

She simply hummed and set the picture back down, looked around the abandoned room once more with disinterest and then made her way back to the room from which she had come.

Her fingers trailed along the peeling paint of the wall, stopping with a quick tap before the wall ended in a corner, now being close to the shower room she could hear that the showers were in fact not running. Daisy's nose scrunched up and she went to the door and, after hearing muffled voices from within, gave a firm rap.

"Hey! Don't discuss important plot points without me, you turds!" Daisy yelled through the door, continuing in a mumble, "Thank you very much…"

She leant back against the door and after a few short moments she heard footsteps approaching from the other side. The door swung open and she caught herself from falling, giving a sheepish smile to the freshly showered and dressed trio.

"What are you on about now, girl?" Morgan grumbled, passing her with Duane in tow. Daisy gave a short laugh.

"Never mind." She said, mostly to herself. Daisy looked back at Rick and gave him an appreciative once over, he was now dressed in his police officer uniform. "Rad uniform, Officer Grimes." She complimented him, getting a reluctant thanks in return. Daisy gave another short laugh at his distrusting her genuineness, and gestured for Rick to take the lead.

He led them through to another room, inside which was a cage wall. Rick took out his keys and unlocked the heavy chain that shut this door, and they entered the armoury of the station.

"A lot of it's gone missing." Rick noted. Both he and Morgan inspected the guns that hung on the wall, Daisy stayed behind them with Duane, not one exactly used to firearms.

"Daddy, can I learn to shoot?" Duane asked hopefully, "I'm old enough." Morgan stopped and looked back at him.

"Hell yes, you're gonna learn. We gotta do it carefully, teach you to respect the weapon." Morgan informed his son.

"That's right. It's not a toy. You pull the trigger, you have to mean it. Always remember that Duane." Rick stressed with a finger pointed at the kid's shoulder, calling his complete attention.

"Yes, sir." Duane agreed with a serious nod.

"You too, Daisy." Rick looked up at her, she startled.

"What, you're gonna teach me?" Daisy looked unsure.

"Might as well, just to be safe." Rick said, continuing after seeing her unease, "Ain't got nothing to be afraid of, Daze." He reassured her. Daisy gave a slight nod.

"Double negative." She mumbled.

"Huh?" Rick didn't hear her.

"Uh, nothin'." Daisy gave him a sheepish smile and leant back against the wall. "Yeah."

Rick and Morgan turned back to the guns, Morgan asking his son to fill up a duffel bag with the spare ammo. Daisy stood with a furrowed brow, watching Rick put a rifle into position, checking the scope. He brought it down and handed it to Morgan.

"Here, take that one. Nothin' fancy. Scope's accurate." Rick said, and Morgan took the gun. He passed Daisy and she ducked away from the gun. She guessed that she'd just have to get used to it.

A few minutes later they were exiting the station, duffel bags full of guns and ammunition in hand.

"Duane, take this to the car." Duane headed off with their bag.

"You sure you won't come along?" Rick asked Morgan, who rubbed at his head in thought.

"A few more days." Morgan conceded. "By then, Duane'll know how to shoot and I won't be so rusty." Morgan looked back at his son. Daisy stood leaning against the car with an elbow. She twisted her lips at the bad feeling she got about splitting up, it never seemed to work in the old Scooby Doo cartoons. Daisy felt that this might be true to life in that regard.

"You got one battery." Rick informed Morgan as he handed him a radio, it squeaked with static. "I'll turn mine on, a few minutes every day at dawn. You get up there, that's how you find us."

"You think ahead." Morgan patted his shoulder in commendation, turning to go towards his son and their car.

"Can't afford not to. Not anymore."

"Listen, one thing. They may not seem like much one at a time, but in a group all riled up and hungry…man, you watch your ass." Morgan warned him. "Watch each other's ass." He added, giving Daisy a look. She gave him a smirk and a reassuring nod in return.

"You too."

Morgan looked at him, and held his hand out for a shake.

"You a good man, Rick. I hope you find your wife and son." Morgan said with complete sincerity. "And Daisy, I hope you find whatever you might be lookin' for." Daisy gave him a thankful smile. Morgan turned to leave.

"Be seeing you, Duane." Rick bent slightly and shook the kid's hand, "Take care of your old man."

"Yes, sir." He said with a smile.

Daisy gave them a fond smile and stepped forward, bending slightly to bring Duane into a hug.

"See you later, kid." She told him, giving him one tight squeeze then releasing him. Duane gave her a smile and a short nod. Farewells all said, they started to break away.

Suddenly, Daisy saw them all stop and focus on something behind her, Morgan's hand retreating to pull a small, silver gun from the back of his belt. Daisy turned to see a lone walker ambling up to the gate, faint growls growing louder.

"Leon Basset?" Rick muttered, his brow furrowed. "Didn't think much of him. Careless and dumb, but…can't leave him like this." The walker, Leon Basset, reached the fence and his fingers tangled in the wire, mouth chomping on air.

"You know they'll hear the shot."

"Let's not be here when they show up."

"Let's go, son. C'mon." Morgan said quietly, and they backed away to their car. Daisy gave Duane one last comforting smile and turned to the police car that she and Rick were taking, opening the passenger side door. She got in and shut the door with a quiet thud and watched out the window as Rick approached his former colleague, stood for a moment, then shot him point blank in the forehead.

Daisy gave a slight flinch at the noise, then watched as the walker sunk down, hands still clinging to the wire. There was a rattle as its fingers released, catching on the fence. She sighed as Rick turned, put his gun back in its holster, and walked over to the car, getting in. They gave each other a glance and he started the engine.

The two cars pulled out of the station, Morgan ahead of them gave them two quick taps of his horn and Rick gave two quick whirls of the siren in return. Daisy gave a smile, hopeful as they turned onto the road and started their drive towards Atlanta.


	11. Serendipity

**Chapter Eleven: Serendipity**

 _Serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way._

 **Day 60**

After a short stop to end the potential misery of the walker that had managed to become inflicted with a hemicorporectomy, Rick and Daisy were on their way out of King County and towards Atlanta. Daisy was feeling somewhat excited to be going back to where it had all began for her apocalyptic experience, excited that there was a chance that she would reunite with her lost friends, Nina and Kat.

But, until then, she was stuck in the passenger seat of Rick's police car, drumming her fingers on her arm with boredom. Daisy pursed her lips and glanced over at Rick, who continued to stare out at the road, which disappeared under the car as they slowly made their way across the country. Outside the window, Daisy saw a flash of lightning illuminate the gloomy clouds that hung low in the sky, bleeding into dusky clear blue sky. She sighed and Rick gave her a quick glance, then he picked up the police radio and reiterated the broadcast he had been giving throughout their trip.

"Broadcasting on emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85." The lightning flashed again, Daisy's eyes darting towards the somewhat ominous background, "Anybody reads, please respond. Hello? Hello? Can anybody hear my voice? Anybody out there? Anybody hears me, please respond. Hello, can you hear my voice? Hello? Hello? Can anybody hear my voice?" Rick paused and gave a defeated sigh, continuing with no response, "Anybody who reads, please respond. Broadcasting on emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. If anybody reads, please respond."

The radio gave a few more futile crackles and Daisy looked to Rick whose hands were nervously clasping the steering wheel.

"Hey, maybe they don't have a radio? Or, we just can't get through?" Daisy suggested with a comforting smile directed at Rick, who gave a short, doubtful nod of his head. "We'll see when we get to Atlanta…you'll find your family, I'll find my friends." Daisy said with only partially false certainty.

A while later they came to a stop by the side of the road, the limited gas in the car having run out. Daisy gathered the backpack at her feet and opened the creaking door, stepping out onto the road with a skip. She closed the door and leant against it as she waited for Rick, who she saw was flipping down the visor to take the photo that hung there. Rick reached down and pulled the lever to pop the trunk, opened his own door and exited with the duffel bag of guns in hand, putting on his deputy's hat.

"Reckon we might find a gas station nearby?" Rick asked in his drawling voice, getting a gas canister out from the open trunk.

"Worth a try." Daisy said with a shrug, beginning to walk away from the car and down the road to Atlanta. She looked around as they walked, grateful for the peace and quiet, for the sounds of wind rustling through the tall grass and birds twittering in the nearby trees. After a somewhat intolerable period of this quietness, they came upon a short drive that lead to a lone white house. Rick led them towards it and called for the attention of any occupants.

"Hello?" He dropped his bags down a few paces from the front steps and nudging his hat upwards, "Police officer out here."

"Rick, there's probably no one here…just go in." Daisy prompted him, getting a glance back from Rick as he continued forward.

"Can I borrow some gas?" He dropped the canister a few feet further, took off his hat and skipped up the front steps to the door of the house. "Hello?"

Daisy ran a hand through her hair and made to follow Rick, jumping over the duffels in her way. Her feet thudded against the wood of the steps and she came to a stop beside Rick who was glancing through the window in the door. He gave a quiet knock.

"Hello?" Rick repeated. "Anybody home?" He moved along the patio to look in the window to the left, then backtracked to look in the next window. Rick was quiet for a moment, looking around the room inside.

"What is it?" Daisy asked quietly with a furrowed brow. He continued in his silence, backing away from the window with a bowed head, going back down the stairs. Daisy's brow furrowed further and she stepped forward to look through the window. She startled as she saw what was inside, a man and a woman were inside. The woman lie dead on the floor, and the man sat up in a chair, half of his head missing. Flies buzzed and circled around the two, neither of them stirring at the disturbance. "Shit…" She mumbled, blinking her eyes firmly and following Rick away from the house.

He was sitting on a garden bench off to the left, so she stood next to him.

"Alright?" She asked him, almost rhetorically at the sight of him. His hand came up to wipe at his forehead and his head shook minutely, Rick looked up at her with concerned eyes.

"You alright?" He asked, concerned that she was, as no person should be completely alright after a spectacle like that.

"Course not!" Daisy said with a wry smile, backing up to where Rick had placed the duffels and the canister, picking them up and beckoning the still seated Rick to follow her. Her eyes caught sight of a faded red and yellow pickup, she turned to move towards it.

The car door opened with no resistance, so Daisy threw the duffels onto the ground and leaned over to check if the keys were in ignition, they weren't. She checked the visor, they weren't there either, no such luck with this one.

"No keys." Daisy called over to Rick. She meandered away from the car towards Rick, who had turned and seemed to be experiencing an epiphany. "What?" Daisy asked with suspicious eyes at his growing smile. He nodded in the direction of the fenced field that was to the right of the house, Daisy looked and saw a horse by the fence, chewing on some grass.

"Don't need a car." Rick said amusedly. Daisy just scrunched her nose up and hit the heel of her hand against her head, muttering a quiet curse to herself. "Don't like horses?" He asked, her reply being an obvious expression and a shake of her head. Daisy sighed in resignation and walked over to the fence, Rick going over to get some rope to wrangle the beast.

 **Later, upon reaching Atlanta**

One turbulent and regrettable horse ride later, Rick and Daisy were plodding along Highway 85, the city of Atlanta rising tall before them. They had passed the packed side of the highway that Daisy had exited the city on, there had been a layer of ashy dust that had covered the traffic, presumably settling after the bombs had dropped a month and a half previous.

Now they were entering the city, sky scrapers rose on either side. The once common sounds of the bustling city were absent, it was an ever present thought that they were alone, that no one would be there to greet them. Still, they continued to trot slowly along on the horse. Ambling through crossroads and turning from road to road, they passed an idle military helicopter much like the ones stationed outside of Harrison Memorial.

Daisy's toes wiggled in her swinging boots as she looked around the scene. Cars were strewn haphazardly along the streets, road blocks were set up with no one to guard them, glass and litter blew softly in the wind. The only sounds was the wind soft in her ears and the clopping of the horse shoes on the ground.

They passed a stopped bus, the outside blackened and burnt with windows missing, inside a few walkers were seated, heads rising minutely before falling again as if in sleep. One of the walkers rose and started to groan, startling the horse and causing Daisy to tighten her hand on Rick's shoulder.

"Whoa." Rick tried to calm the horse. The bus creaked as the others began to amble along the aisle and out of the open doors. "Steady. It's just a few, nothin' we can't outrun." Rick aimed his calming at both the horse and the tense Daisy, her hand loosened. They sped up, both Rick and Daisy being thrown up and down by the movement of the horse, Daisy's eyes rolled in frustration as the duffel of guns bounced on her bag. "Whoa, whoa, whoa."

"This goddamn horse needs to calm his shit." Daisy mumbled half-heartedly, not exactly in favour of anymore fast speeds in this particular mode of transportation. Rick gave a huff of a laugh and the horse began to calm and go at a steady speed. "Holy crap!" Daisy exclaimed quietly as they came across an army tank, one which she had obviously never seen in reality. The turret was aimed upwards and Daisy couldn't help but admire the possible fire power.

Upon further inspection, she could see a dead man strewn across the front of the tank, ominously crowing birds pecking at the dead flesh. Daisy swallowed around a dry throat and they passed the tank and the dead man.

Suddenly, a thrumming sound could be heard through the air and both Rick and Daisy swivelled their heads to follow the sound.

"You hear—?" Rick started, Daisy just nodded her head with wide eyes in reply. Looking around, Daisy couldn't see the helicopter amongst the high rises, nor could she exactly determine which direction it was likely in. Rick's head turned forwards just in time to catch a slowly moving shadow along the mirrored windows of a building.

"Hyah!" The horse started to run and Daisy gripped the sides of the saddle as they rushed towards where Rick had seen the reflection. Their canter stopped at the next intersection, where they immediately realised that they were in trouble.

Hundreds upon hundreds of walkers were gathered in the adjoining street, ambling around in circles amongst each other. Daisy could now hear the low hum of their moans, and she could hear her own heart beating soundly in her ears. The horse whinnied in fear as it came to a complete stop and reared back away from the dead.

"Fuck!" Daisy cried at both the amount of walkers and the fact that she had just barely held on to the bucking horse. Quickly, Rick turned the reigns and the horse followed his lead, rushing back from where they had come, away from the crowd of walkers faster than they had gone before.

Now back next to the tank, their situation got worse as more walkers began to spew from the other streets, all headed towards Rick, Daisy and the panicking horse. The horse reared again and this time Daisy couldn't find purchase, she fell hard onto her backside with a pained yell, the duffel falling off of her back.

Walkers were approaching fast, she backed away from the heavy steps of the horse, and away from the hordes of walkers. Her back bumped against the heavy tread of the tank and she looked up panicked at Rick who was still turning on the horse. The dead began to pull at his legs and the horse, Rick fell as the horse tipped with a panicked scream.

"Rick!" Daisy cried, urging him to come to her with a gesturing arm. She quickly looked around, backing further away from the approaching dead. Seeing her only option, she ducked under the bottom of the tank and rolled to the middle.

There were disgusting squelches as the walkers began to eat the still screaming horse, rabidly biting at its stomach until it screamed no more. Rick kicked at a walker that tried to get at him and crawled closer to where she lay under the tank. Pale hands grabbed at him, Rick kicked them away and finally he made it under next to Daisy.

The walkers began to crawl after them, Daisy's eyes darted around the ground, trying to find some opening where they could escape from under the tank, but found nothing but walkers. She lay on her back, breath shuttering from her lips, heart beating fast in panic at their obvious doom.

"Oh god, oh god." Rick muttered beside her, there were two loud bangs that ringed in her ears, she couldn't hear herself think. The two panicked people shared a terrified glance, and Daisy looked up at the tank above her. Her brow furrowed at what she saw, then her eyes widened as she realised that it was an open hatch.

Quickly she pulled herself through, and Rick soon followed her example. He shut the hatch behind them and Daisy fell against the side of the tank with a relieved sigh as her heart calmed. Though they weren't out of the woods yet, she felt a certain sense of relief. Rick backed up, scrambling past her and landing beside the dead body of a soldier. He sighed as she had, head softly falling back against the grate behind him, the two breathed heavily after the adrenaline left them.

Daisy closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. In the dark of her mind she heard a panicked gasp, so she opened her eyes to see the soldier reanimated in death and Rick pointing a gun under its chin.

"Wh—?" Daisy was cut off by a deafening shot as Rick pulled the trigger, both of their ears rung and they held their heads to quiet it. Daisy tightened her eyes closed again, gripping her hair with her hands. Seconds passed, and above her she could see Rick had moved to stand on a chair and look out of the open top hatch of the tank. She heard thuds as the walkers presumably climbed the tank, and Rick ducked back down, closing the hatch and falling back down onto his side with a heavy thump.

"The guns." He muttered quietly, looking across at Daisy.

"Shit, I dropped the bag." Daisy lamented, hand holding her forehead in despair. They looked at each other with misery for a short while, glancing up as the thuds continued to sound.

Suddenly, a radio started to crackle, they both looked towards it. The static gave way to reveal a man's voice.

"Hey, you! You dumbasses! Yeah, you two in the tank. Cosy in there?"


	12. Reunion

**Chapter Twelve: Reunion**

 _Reunion: an instance of two or more people coming together again after a period of separation._

 **Day 60**

"Hey, you alive in there?"

Upon hearing the voice from the radio, Daisy and Rick looked at each other with wide, startled eyes. Suddenly, they both scrambled towards where the voice had come from, Daisy wincing in sympathy as she heard Rick bash his head on the low roof.

"Hello? Hello?" Rick had picked up the radio and was asking after the unnamed man with a quiet, frantic tone.

"There you are. You had me wondering." The voice sighed.

"Where are you? Outside? Can you see me right now?"

"Yeah, I can see you. You're surrounded by walkers, that's the bad news."

"There's good news?" Rick asked disbelievingly.

"No." The voice was short, Daisy gave a wry smile.

"Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you we're a little concerned in here."

"Oh, man. You should see it from over here, you'd be having a major freak-out." The voice noted, Daisy gave a half-glare at the radio, not exactly thrilled with their saviour.

"Got any advice for me?" Rick tried.

"Yeah, I'd say make a run for it." Daisy and Rick shared a tense glance.

"That's it, 'make a run for it'."

"My way's not as dumb as it sounds. You've got eyes on the outside here. There's one geek still up on the tank, but the others have climbed down and joined the feeding frenzy where the horse went down. You with me so far?"

"So far."

"Okay, the street on the other side of the tank is less crowded. Of you move now while they're distracted, you and your friend stand a chance. You got ammo?"

"In that duffel bag I dropped out there, and guns. Can I get to it?"

"Forget the bag, okay? It's not an option. What do you have on you?"

"Hang on." Rick dropped the radio and scrambled for the gun he had pilfered from the dead soldier, checking the rounds. He dropped the gun back on the floor and went back to the dead body, rifling around its vest. After a beat, he came back with a grenade in hand.

"Whoa, shit." Daisy managed, flinching away from the explosive-prone weapon. Rick shot her an amused smirk, put the grenade in his pocket, and picked the radio back up, bringing it to his face.

"I gotta Beretta with one clip, 15 rounds."

"And a big-ass knife." Daisy mumbled from where she sat, rummaging through her backpack until said knife was discovered and raised into the air in triumph. She gave a small smile to Rick as he reiterated what she said into the radio.

"Okay, good. The rounds, make 'em count." Came their reply. "Jump off the right side of the tank, keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street, maybe 50 yards. Be there."

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Have you been listening? You're running out of time." The radio uttered with incredulity. Daisy huffed a laugh, the guy was beginning to grow on her.

"Right." Rick mumbled, turning around where he sat. He found a shovel hanging on the wall and took it in hand, gun ready in the other. Daisy beside him readied her knife in steady hands. They shared a look and he nodded, quickly moving up and out of the tank, pushing the hatch open.

Rick pulled himself out of the tank, Daisy close behind him, and they both dropped down to the road beside the tank. Daisy, thankfully, stuck the landing, while Rick was left to land in a roll, pained shout escaping him.

"Shit!" Daisy exclaimed, and quickly pulled Rick up to run towards the alley that the voice had specified.

Sharp shots rang out one by one as Rick put down multiple walkers. Daisy looked to her side to see a walker ambling towards her, she swung downwards with her blade, and a sharp crack sounded as it fixed itself in the walker's skull. Her foot came up and she kicked the walker away from her, and the knife slid out of its new home.

Daisy gave a grunt and followed the quickly moving Rick to where she could see a man beckoning through the fenced entrance of the alleyway. In another quick slice, Daisy downed a second of the dead, and winced as dark blood splattered over her chest.

"Whoa! Not dead! Come on, come on!" Daisy heard the new voice shout as Rick pointed his gun at the possible threat ahead of her. She rushed and quickly entered the alley after them, Rick turning to shoot past her at the few that made it through the gate.

Halfway through the alley, the three stopped and the man from the radio began to climb a ladder up the side of the building, Rick shooting the approaching walkers until he had no rounds left. Daisy nodded her head at the ladder for Rick to go first, and raised her knife to slice at the nearest walker.

"What are you doing, come on!" Daisy heard the kid scream from high up the ladder, Rick quickly followed him.

A walker fell to the ground with a groan, Daisy landed her knife in the next and grunted as she pulled her weapon back out of its cracked skull. Looking up, Daisy saw that Rick was high enough that she could begin to climb, so she grabbed the rungs and scaled the ladder with a whimper at the scratching fingers of the walkers on her legs.

Daisy halted with a grunt as one of the walkers managed to grab hold of her ankle, she looked down with narrowed eyes and kicked the offender in its snarling face. After hearing a satisfying crunch, the fingers slipped from her ankle and Daisy scrambled further up the ladder, reaching the platform halfway up the building in a short minute.

Rick leant down and gave her a hand, pulling her up to stand next to him and the new kid. Daisy leaned against the railing, slumping with a relieved sigh, all three of them panting in exhaustion. Her hand came up to tousle her wild hair and she glanced at their saviour. She paused and her head tilted in recognition.

"Glenn?!" Daisy looked at him in amazed disbelief, " _Pizza guy_ Glenn, what the fuck?"

"Holy shit, Daisy!" Glenn looked back at her with wide eyes, recognition clear. "You're the other dumbass?"

"Psh, well I wouldn't necessarily call myself that…" Daisy defended herself.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Rick drawled, looking between the two with confusion. Glenn gave an enthusiastic nod.

"Yeah! We were together when this all went down!" Glenn gave an amazed smile at the coincidence of their meeting again. "Daisy and her friends ordered a pizza, I delivered it…they let me stay in their room for shelter from the rabid man-eating monsters…" He trailed off.

"My friends!" Daisy exclaimed, hit by realisation that he had been with them when the groups had been separated, and looked at him with wide eyes. "Kat, Nina?" She asked with worried hopefulness. Glenn paused, looking away with a wince. "They're gone." Daisy surmised in a flat tone, brow furrowing in disappointment.

"No!" Glenn exclaimed. "I mean, Nina was…scratched by a walker when we first escaped the city…when we, split up with you. She got infected, and…But, Kat! She's back at camp!" He looked at her with his face twisted in a wince, torn between excitement for Kat's survival and sorrow at Nina's death. Daisy took a deep, steadying breath and gave a firm nod, accepting the harshness of this new world for what it was and focusing on the good.

"That's great, Glenn. We'll, get outta here and…I'll see Kat again! Thank you." Daisy gave him a soft smile, glad for even this small miracle. He gave a modest scoff behind a smile, and beckoned them both to follow him further up the ladder.

Once on the rooftop of the building, the three stood looking over at the walkers below, Rick and Daisy grateful to Glenn for not leaving them to that fate. Rick and Glenn introduced themselves to each other, and Rick voiced the gratitude that Daisy shared. Conventions surpassed, they began to travel along the rooftops of the Atlantan buildings, Glenn leading the two newcomers towards the store that his group had apparently holed up in. Jogging up to a hatch in the roof of their destination, Glenn pulled it open but was stopped by Rick who questioned him.

"Back at the tank, why'd you stick your neck out for us?" Glenn paused and looked down, dropping his backpack down the hole, and then lowering himself down after it. A few steps down the ladder into the building, he looked up at Rick with consideration.

"Call it foolish, naïve hope…but if I'm ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same for me. Guess I'm an even bigger dumbass then you." Glenn said, Daisy smirked at his honesty. Rick looked up from Glenn and caught Daisy's eye, both simultaneously agreeing that Glenn's reasoning was sound.

One more reluctant ladder later, Glenn, Rick and Daisy darted through an office space and out of the building, then down a twisting staircase into another alley, Glenn notifying his group on his radio that they had company. They reached the bottom of the stairway and were halted by the lazy groans of two walkers, both turning towards the living with renewed hunger.

Just as the dead were limping towards them, a door into the adjacent building opened to reveal two people, faces unseen due to the protective masks covering them, black sports gear protecting their bodies. Both had baseball bats, and two successive hits later, the walkers were down and were beaten again and again by the people until the alley was silent of groaning. Rick and Daisy followed Glenn, who had run past his two friends and into the building that they had emerged from.

"Morales! Let's go!" The two walker-beaters followed them and closed the door behind them.

"Son of a bitch! We oughta kill you!" Daisy startled back against a wall of boxes as a blonde woman pushed Rick into the wall and pointed a gun in his face.

"Just chill out Andrea. Back off." One of the men tried to calm her.

"Come one, ease up."

"Ease up? You're kidding me, right?" Andrea looked at her group with incredulity, "We're dead because of this stupid asshole."

"Andrea, I said back _the hell_ off."

There were a few silent seconds, Daisy shared a wary glance with Rick from across the room, whom Andrea was still pointing her gun at.

"Or, pull the trigger." Daisy's eyes widened, but she let out a breath when the man had correctly called her bluff. Andrea had backed off and put down her gun, shaking her head as her face scrunched up in panic.

"We're dead. All of us. Because of you." Andrea said matter-of-factly, Daisy looked at her with concern.

"I don't understand." Rick looked around at them, confused. Daisy took a hesitant step forward.

"Look, Andrea, was it?" Daisy raised her hands as if to calm her. "We didn't know there was a horde of walkers just around the corner…we panicked. All Rick had was his gun, he had to fire off some shots." Andrea scoffed, shaking her head. "No, he had to, to protect himself, and to protect me. Now, we apologise! In hindsight…not the _best_ idea." Daisy looked expectantly at Rick, who gave a short nod, brow furrowed in sincerity at the hostile Andrea.

"We got your group into this mess…brought the walkers closer. We'll find a way to draw them away." Rick proposed, nodding around at the group, receiving some positive responses back. Andrea remained stone-faced, but began to back off. With the confrontation considered finished, Morales led the group further into the building.

They walked through short hallways until they reached the front of the store. Outside the windowed doors, walkers were gathered, moaning and hitting at the glass, which was beginning to splinter at the torment.

"You two rang the goddamn dinner bell…" Andrea said testily, hackles beginning to raise once more. There were sharp cracking sounds as the windows broke further, not caving just yet. It was abundantly clear that they were not safe, that a plan had to come about soon, or they were all dead.


	13. Ignoramus

**Chapter Thirteen: Ignoramus**

 _Ignoramus: an ignorant or stupid person._

 **Day 60**

"Hey, T-Dog, try that CB." Morales suggested as they all stood in a group, looking warily towards the rowdy group of walkers outside. "Can you contact the others?"

"Others?" Rick asked, Daisy looked questioningly at the group around them.

"Glenn mentioned a camp." She added, searching for clarification. Morales gave her a short nod in reply, deciding the explanation succinct.

"Got no signal." T-Dog bemoaned, holding the crackling radio in hand, glaring at it for its fault. "Maybe the roof?" He suggested with renewed optimism.

As if some unseen force had heard them, a loud bang and whooping voice sounded from above; a gun had fired. All in the group looked to the ceiling, those who knew the origins of the noise narrowed their eyes at the disturbance.

"Oh no, is that Dixon?" Andrea interjected, leading the group away from the walkers scratching at the glass doors and back towards the roof access.

"Come on, let's go."

Daisy and Rick followed behind, not exactly hopeful that this 'Dixon' person would be a reasonable person, if that shout had anything to say about his character. They made their way up winding stairs, feet making hollow thumps on the dull metal steps, overshadowed by the loud gunshots echoing from above, until they reached the uppermost floor.

Morales led the group, flinging the roof door open, "Hey Dixon, are you crazy?" There was a hoarse snicker, and Daisy emerged into the daylight. The group stood staring at the man, Dixon, who was on the ledge of the roof, aiming a rifle at the walkers below.

"Oh, jeez." Andrea muttered beside Daisy.

"Hey! You oughta be more polite to a man with a gun!" Dixon had turned, and was now holding the rifle in front of him. Daisy didn't know him, but upon this first impression, she didn't exactly have faith that he wouldn't act on his veiled threat. "Huh? Only common sense." Dixon jumped down from his perch and strode towards the group with a shit-eating grin smeared across his face.

"Man, you wasting bullets we ain't even got!" T-Dog yelled at him, rushing up to confront the wayward man. "And you're bringin' even more of them up on our ass!"

"Hey! Bad enough I got this taco-bender on my ass all day. Now I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so, bro. That'll be the day."

T-Dog paused, looking at him with narrowed eyes, "'That'll be the day'? You got something you want to tell me?"

Daisy's eyes widened in disbelief and she muttered to herself, "What the fuck kinda racist?" The man, Dixon turned his eyes on her, narrowing them.

"You got something you wanna say there, Sweetheart?" His mouth twisted as he looked at her lecherously, Daisy backtracked with her nose wrinkled in disgust. Merle just chuckled and scoffed at her in dismissal, turning back to his confrontation with T-Dog.

"You wanna know the day?" He continued, looking smugly at T-Dog in front of him.

"Yeah!"

"I'll tell you that day, it's the day I take orders from a nigger."

"Motherfu—!" T-Dog flung a punch at Dixon and Daisy stepped back from the fight, shoulder bumping into Glenn's behind her.

The group all at once started forward, Rick getting the closest and interjecting himself between them. There was a heavy, meaty sound as Merle landed a hit on T-Dog's shoulder, he went down and Rick held out a calming hand towards Merle. Another punch, this time from Merle directed at Rick, and Rick was pushed down to the ground, falling over the heavy pipe that was fixed between them.

"Fucking…" Daisy rushed forward and helped the disoriented Rick to his feet, looking up to see the brawl continuing, and wondering just what she and Rick had gotten into. There was a loud ringing thump as T-Dog's face was smashed into a large pipe, Merle stood over him and began to kick him.

"Dixon, get off him! You're gonna hurt him!" The others stood to the side, screaming for him to stop and see some semblance of reason. Daisy stepped over the pipe and gestured for Rick to follow her, she held out a hand which he took to give himself balance. Behind her she could hear the sound of Merle's fists landing on T-Dog's face, she cringed at the sound of T-Dog's groans.

Rick touched a hand to his face, and shook his head to find some clarity. He started forward, just as Merle had pulled another gun on T-Dog, aiming it directly at his anxious face. Merle cocked the gun with a metallic click.

"No, no, no! Please!" Andrea pleaded with the unreasonable Merle from the side. All was still for the moment, no one daring to move. T-Dog moaned from where he was flat on the ground, Merle looked around at the terrified faces of his group, then looked back down to stare into T-Dog's wide eyes. The hand pointing the gun wavered, and then Merle simply spat a huge gob of spit onto T-Dog's face and gave a yell.

"Yeah! Alright! We're gonna have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk about who's in charge…I vote me." Merle stood and backed off of T-Dog, looking around at the group with a smug grin as they collectively pulled T-Dog to his feet. "Anybody else, huh? Democracy time, y'all."

Daisy just continued to stand off to the side, entirely unwilling to get involved in that hot mess of a situation. She didn't know what kind of power trip this maniac was on, just that she wanted nothing to do with it.

"Show of hands, huh? All in favour?" Merle prompted the group, gun pointing off to the side with one hand while his other raised into the air. "Come on. Let's see 'em." Morales reluctantly raised his hand.

"Oh, come on." Andrea cried in disbelief, her face scrunching up at his conceding to Merle's impromptu democratic election.

"All in favour?"

One by one the group started to raise their hands, their expressions telling that they would rather do anything else had Merle not been waving his gun around in threat. Daisy's lips tugged up in a smirk when she saw that one of the women had the middle finger or her voting hand raised towards Merle.

"Yeah, that means I'm the boss, right? Yeah. Anybody else?" Merle looked around at the people, eyebrows raised mockingly. Daisy's attention was caught when Rick shook off her hand and moved forward, towards Merle who had his back turned towards the two newcomers.

"Yeah." He said quietly, Merle turned to see who dared oppose him, only to be promptly assaulted by a shotgun to the face.

There was a thud and a grunt as Merle landed heavily on the concrete roof, Rick knelt down. One knee was pressed hard into Merle's neck to contain him as Rick found his police handcuffs and slapped one cuff around Merle's wrist, and the other around an offshoot of the heavy pipe that overtook the roof.

Daisy huffed a relieved breath and lost the tenseness in her shoulders, glad that somebody was capable of shutting that crazy person down. She looked over to see the others in the group staring at the downed and cuffed man, Rick had hauled him up to sit against the pipe and his hands were balled threateningly into Merle's vest.

"Who the hell are you man?!" Merle managed to shout between pained grunts.

"Officer friendly." Rick leant back and took Merle's fallen gun off the ground, turning back to get into his face after taking the bullets out. "Look here, Merle. Things are different now. There are no _niggers_ anymore." Rick sneered the word at Merle. "No dumb-as-shit, inbred white-trash fools either. Only dark meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart."

"Screw you, man." Merle scoffed at Rick, who looked away with a bitterly amused smile.

"I can see you make a habit of missing the point." Rick narrowed his eyes at Merle, his face turning serious.

"Yeah? Well, screw you twice."

"Ought to be polite to a man with a gun." Rick spat Merle's words back into his face, pointing Merle's lost gun against his forehead. "Only common sense."

All was quiet for a few beats, save the heavy breathing of the group members, until Merle ill-advisedly spoke up again.

"You, you're a cop."

"All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son. Anybody gets in the way of that is gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that." Rick tilted his head with newfound awareness, then patted around Merle's vest until a little vial of white powder surfaced. He tilted Merle's head back, "Got some on your nose there." Rick flicked the offending appendage

"What are you gonna do? Arrest me?" Rick rose and then threw the cocaine over the side of the building. "Hey! What are you doing? Man, that's my stuff!" Rick walked away from the screaming man. "If I get loose, you'd better pray…yeah, you hear me, you pig? You hear me?"

"Yeah, your voice carries." Rick muttered to himself as he passed the wide-eyed Daisy. He leant his forearms against the barrier around the roof, Daisy peered around his shoulder to see him gripping his wrist, hand shaking. Morales came up on Rick's other side and began talking to Rick, Daisy backed off and slinked past the fuming Merle, who glared at her mutely, then approached the rest of the group. T-Dog sat on the ground, hand gingerly probing his tender face where Merle had assaulted him.

"You…okay?" Daisy managed, wincing in sympathy for him. T-Dog just gave her an obvious look, then glanced off and continued to try to soothe his injury. "Yeah…haha, guess not." Daisy's eyes wandered over the rest of the new people, most of whom were looking curiously back at her. "So what the fuck is that guy's deal?" She mumbled under her breath, nodding her head back a fraction in his direction.

"Asshole hick thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he and his brother hunt for the group." Andrea explained briefly, bitter tone accurately conveying the general feeling towards the two. Daisy nodded her head up and down a few times in understanding, then twisted her mouth in thought.

Above them the crackle of thunder resounded, Daisy looked up to see dense, heavy clouds covering the Atlantan sky. Andrea and Jacqui both stood up from where they were crouching and glanced over the ledge.

"My God, it's like Times Square down there." Andrea remarked, Daisy leaned against the ledge and glanced down at the street below. Her brow furrowed as she took in the hundreds of walkers that littered the streets, each ambling slowly around with no apparent destination.

"How's that signal?" Morales asked T-Dog, him and Rick approaching the others.

"Like Dixon's brain. _Weak_." He replied snarkily, rightfully so after the beating that his face took. Daisy gave a half-smirk as her eyes continued to scan the horde of walkers.

"Keep trying."

"Why? There's nothing they can do. Not a damn thing." Andrea added, somewhat unhelpfully.

"She's right we're on our own." Rick reiterated. "Up to us to find a way out."

"Good luck with that. These streets ain't safe in this part of town from what I hear. Ain't that right, Sugartits?" Merle added, sneering at Andrea lecherously. Daisy's nose wrinkled in disgust, already regretting Merle's existence. "Ay, Honeybuns! What's say you get me outta these cuffs, we go off somewhere and bump some uglies? Gonna die, anyway."

"I'd rather." Andrea replied frankly, Daisy couldn't help but agree.

"Rug-muncher. And you, Curly?" Merle looked up at Daisy beseechingly, she just gave him an obvious look. He scoffed and sighed, abruptly spitting off to the side. "Figured as much. Hope you two'll be very _happy_ together." Merle jeered mockingly.

After mentally dismissing the jeering man, the group debated possible plans for an escape, finally coming upon a decision to try the sewers rather than the walker-infested streets. So, they convened in the sub-basement of the building, circled around the fenced ladder that led to the sewer entrance. Torch light shone down to show the dank entrance.

"This is it? You sure?"

"I really scoped this place out the other times I was here. S'the only thing in the building that goes down." Glenn assured them. "But I've never gone down it. Who'd want to, right?" Daisy and the rest of the group simultaneously turned to look at him, his face slowly fell in realisation. "Oh." He said flatly, "Great."

Glenn nodded his head slightly, it seemed to Daisy as though Glenn had often drawn the short straw. After Glenn insisted that they do things on his terms, the group split to attend to their assigned jobs. Rick, Andrea and Morales went to the storefront to protect from walkers with their guns, Glenn and Daisy started down the ladder to the sewer, and Jacqui stood watch at the top of the ladder.

Daisy stepped off the ladder and onto the floor, wincing inadvertently at the sound of her boots hitting the murky water. She held her torch up and followed Glenn into the entrance of the sewer. Their steps were hollow and echoing through the tunnel, water continuously dripped along the pipes on the wall. Daisy gritted her teeth at the sight of a very large rat scampering out of the torchlight, ahead of her Glenn groaned in disgust.

They continued through the twisting tunnels, shortly reaching the end of their journey at the barred blockage of the tunnel. Glenn and Daisy shared a short glance.

"Reckon we could cut through it?" Glenn pondered. Daisy just pursed her lips and gave a shake of her head. "Thought not…"

Just then there was a screech and a walker lunged at the two through the bars, both of them leapt back in fright. The walker moaned, disembowelled rat held in hand and a bloody mouth suggesting he had taken a bite. Glenn and Daisy shared another, disbelieving glance.

"We just can't catch a fucking break, huh?" Daisy muttered incredulously.


	14. Escape

**Chapter Fourteen: Escape**

 _Escape: break free from confinement or control._

 **Day 60**

There was a succession of smashes as the walkers burst through the front doors of the store, glass raining down onto the ground, and then heavy thuds as they slammed against the second wall of doors, the growling and moaning growing louder. Daisy, Glenn and Jacqui ran up behind the rest of the group, slimy green footprints following after them in tracks.

"What'd you find down there?" Rick asked the pair behind him, gun raised towards the walkers crowded around the doors.

"Not a way out." Daisy said quietly, nose wrinkling in accusation at the walker that had scared her and Glenn onto their asses.

"We need to find a way." Andrea stressed, Daisy's eyes narrowed in agreement.

"Soon." Jacqui added.

Sometime later the group reconvened on the rooftop, joining the bickering T-Dog and Merle. Above them the heavy, dark clouds rumbled with thunder and they tried to manage some idea of escape. After some futile epiphany-seeking, the rest of the group followed after Rick who was looking through some binoculars at the street below.

"That construction site, those trucks. They always keep keys on hand."

"They'll never make it past the walkers." Morales argued resignedly.

"You got me outta that tank." Rick looked over at Glenn.

"Yeah, but they were feeding. They were distracted."

"Can we distract them again?"

"Right! Listen to him, he's onto something." Merle piped over from where he was still handcuffed. "A diversion, like on _Hogan's Heroes_."

"God, give it a rest." Jacqui scoffed at him.

"They're drawn by sound, right?" Rick continued.

"Right, like dogs. They hear sound, they come."

"What else?"

"Aside from they hear you? They see you, smell you and if they catch you, they eat you."

"They can tell us by smell?" Rick questioned.

"Can't you?"

"They smell dead, we don't. It's pretty distinct." Andrea surmised.

Daisy narrowed her eyes as Rick took in that information, suddenly aware of the shit storm he was about to bring the group into.

After suiting up in big, white coats, Glenn and Rick were ready to become walker-fied. They had dragged in the two deceased walkers from the alley that they had killed earlier and were going to cover the three unlucky souls in their entrails to cover any human scent.

Rick has his splash mask pulled down and an axe raised in hand, the group around him looking pale and apprehensive. He hesitated for a moment, then raised the axe high over the body…then dropped it on the floor along with his mask and knelt down to rummage around in the walker's pants pocket. He surfaced a wallet and opened it, revealing a less decomposed version of the face staring up at them.

"Wayne Dunlap." Rick stated quietly. "Georgia licence, born 1979. He had twenty dollars in his pocket when he died. And a picture of a pretty girl: 'with love, from Rachel.'" Rick sighed, the others looking at him with serious faces. "He used to be like us. Worrying about bills or the rent, or the Super Bowl. If I ever find my family, I'm gonna tell 'em about Wayne."

Rick closed the wallet and placed it snugly back into the pocket once more. He stood back up and took his axe and mask in hand, placing the latter protectively over his face.

"One more thing…he was an organ donor." Glenn added quietly.

Daisy's lip quirked up as she took in the creepiness of that statement, suppressing a larger, more hysterical smile. Across from her, Andrea looked at her with accusation as Rick began crashing the axe into the body, probably thinking Daisy to be some deranged gore fetishist. A particularly gory crunch sounded and everyone save Rick flinched away, Morales touching his chest in the cross.

"Ugh." Daisy grunted as a leg separated, only ligaments joining it to rest of the body. After copious amounts of chopping by Rick and Morales, the bodies were sufficiently opened and it had come time to smear the entrails.

So, Daisy and the rest of the group leant down with blue-gloved hands outstretched, and scooped up the blood and the guts from the walker's opened stomach cavity. There were copious moans and groans from the disgusted group, almost mimicking the sounds of the dead.

Daisy stood, cupped hands filled with blood, and moved over to Rick. Jacqui was patting red onto his coat, Daisy's hands joined hers. Rick and Daisy shared a long look.

"Long fucking day, huh?" Daisy mumbled to him with an amused smirk, he sighed in agreement. It had just been that morning that Daisy and Rick were kicking it with Morgan and Duane, it seemed a lifetime ago. Time started moving paradoxically fast after the world had ended.

"Oh god, oh jeez! This is bad!" Daisy looked over to see Glenn cringing as Andrea draped some of 'Wayne Dunlap's' intestines over his shoulders and she huffed a laugh, bending down to scoop up some more.

"Think about somethin' else." Rick suggested. "Puppies and kittens."

" _Dead_ puppies and kittens." T-Dog added ominously, Daisy snorted a quiet laugh but then cringed as Glenn bent over and vomited with a heaving groan.

"That is just evil. What is wrong with you?" Andrea glared accusingly at T-Dog, then towards Daisy whose shoulders were jumping with silent laughter. Daisy just ignored her and splashed the remaining blood in her hands onto Rick's shoulders.

"We smell like them?" Rick asked.

"I'd say so…pretty rank!" Daisy muttered, nose crinkling at the smell of death, despite constant exposure she was not entirely used to it.

After Andrea gave Glenn her gun and Rick gave T-Dog the key to Merle's cuff, the plan was ready for action. Rick and Glenn had been sufficiently camouflaged in walker guts, bloody hands and feet hanging from their shoulders, so the two made their way out through the side door, Glenn being quite reluctant.

Daisy, Andrea, Jacqui, Morales and T-Dog raced back up the stairs to the roof, where they joined the sulking Merle.

"Hey, what's happenin'?" Merle called from where he sat.

"T-Dog, try that CB." The group ignored him.

"Hey, come on! Talk to me, y'all."

"Base camp, this is T-Dog. Anybody hear me?" T-Dog tried to raise the rest of their group but to no avail.

Daisy joined the others and looked out over the street, following Morales' arm as he pointed towards where he could see Glenn and Rick through the binoculars.

"That asshole's out on the street with the handcuff keys?" Merle cried, across from him T-Dog raised the key and waved it mockingly in the air. Down below Glenn and Rick were slowly limping through the crowd of walkers with no resistance; the plan was working.

As if their luck had finally turned, the static of the radio which T-Dog was using to try to raise their group gave way to a voice answering, "Hello, hello? Reception's bad on this end."

"Shane is that you?" T-Dog asked. Then he further explained that they were trapped in the department store, but not before too long the answering voice dissipated into more static.

A disappointed huff escaped from Daisy at the dashing of her hope, the rest of their group wasn't coming to save them. Her mood was reflected by the clouds above, which had spread and become darker, thunder rumbling louder. Daisy's nose twitched as tiny droplets began to hit her face, then her eyes widened as she realised what the rain meant.

"Oh, man." Morales groaned.

She looked down along with the group at Rick and Glenn, who were caught in the rain and very dependent on maintaining their walker appearance. Blood red puddles followed them as they stumbled through the crowd, their bloodied coats were becoming dark with the rain that was washing them clean of the walker scent.

"It's just a cloud burst! We get 'em all the time, it'll pass real quick." Morales said firmly, trying to maintain the hope that they were so quickly losing. Around the two on the street, the walkers were beginning to groan louder and their heads tilted towards them. Curious walkers ambled towards the ripening scent of human, Glenn and Rick slowing with caution.

One walker lunged at Rick, who quickly raised his axe and embedded it in its skull. Rick gave a shout, then he and Glenn ran the few remaining feet to the construction site. Daisy and the others watched with bated breath as they swung their respective axe and knife into the heads of the rowdy walkers.

"Come on, come on, come on." Morales muttered, Daisy shared his sentiment. After one last stretch, the two made it to the fence and both scaled it quickly and landed on the other side, shedding their bloody coats. Walkers crashed into the chain-link fence and scratched at the two from behind it, but they just ran to the awaiting truck, Rick backtracking to shoot the few walkers who had begun to scale the fence, then they entered it.

"Thank fuck!" Daisy exclaimed loudly, sighing loudly and slumping against the ledge. The others beside her shared similar exclamations, save Andrea who looked at Daisy with apprehension, as seemed custom for her. She looked back up to see the truck peeling off through another exit to the compound.

"They're leaving us!" Andrea cried. Daisy's shackled raised accordingly.

"What, what, what d'you mean?" Merle called out from behind them.

" _No_! They fucking aren't!" Daisy shouted at the hysterical group, each turning to look at her with a hopeless expression. "Rick's a honourable dude, they'll come around another way, or something. He's a cop for Christ's sake!" They didn't seem entirely believing of her, but quieted their panicking.

"Those roll up doors at the front of the store facing the street, meet us there and be ready!" Glenn's hurried voice called from the radio in T-Dog's hand. Daisy's eyes widened at the still group.

"Go, go!" She ordered, they all scrambled to pick up their supplies and backpacks.

"Come on, let's go!" Morales reiterated.

"Hey! You can't leave me here!" Merle cried from where he was handcuffed to the pipe. Daisy was the last in the group and looked down at him with wide eyes. "Morales, you can't leave me like this, man!"

"Hey, T!" Daisy shouted, prompting the man on the grate to turn and pause for a short while. She held her hand out for the key, which he reluctantly threw underhand towards her after a sneering look directed at Merle who was begging for his help. Daisy scrambled for it, then caught the tiny key against her stomach as T-Dog rushed after the others out the door. Anxious fingers shook as she knelt down next to the belligerent Merle, he held his arm out so the chain became taught, she quickly found the keyhole and unlocked it. Daisy then stood and pulled her backpack tight around her shoulders.

"Quick, man." She mumbled as she rushed after T-Dog, Merle right behind her. They rushed down the stairs for a final time and burst into the room with the others. Morales, Jacqui and Andrea had their hands poised around the chain that would pull the roller door up, heads turned to listen for the arrival of the truck.

Daisy panted as she leant against the wall, one hand coming up to scrub some curls off of her forehead. She looked up with the others as a sound began to blare throughout the street outside. A car siren grew louder and louder until it shot past them, then the squealing of tires on the road could be heard, the group looked around amongst themselves confusedly.

Shortly after that they heard a sharp rap on the door, they hurriedly raised it to reveal Rick beckoning them into the back of a truck. Bags were tossed up to Rick, then one by one they rushed in and pulled the door down as Rick started the truck. Moans steadily increased outside, but the truck started and the group left the dead behind.

Daisy gripped the floor of the truck as Rick pealed onto the street and turned sharply, bumping into T-Dog who was beside her. She muttered an apology and otherwise relaxed as they made their way through Atlanta towards their camp.

"You were gonna leave me on the goddamn roof, weren't ya?" Merle's sneering voice filled the back of the truck as he looked at T-Dog with accusation. T-Dog rose up in protest, the others looked at the two with confusion. "Hesitated!" He exclaimed. "'f't weren't fer Curly here, I woulda been eaten." He gave a dismissive nod of his head towards Daisy.

" _I didn't_ unlock your _cuffs_ so you could _bitch_ about it, Merle Dixon!" Daisy said firmly, eyes wide and eyebrows raised in incredulity at his impertinence.

"Psh." Merle scoffed, but he did remain silent for the duration of the trip, so Daisy definitely counted that as a win.


	15. Lost

**Chapter Fifteen: Lost**

 _Lost: unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts._

 **Day 60**

After a tense drive from Atlanta, the group finally arrived at the camp, which was located just outside of Atlanta near a quarry in what looked like a park land. Daisy was a little apprehensive due to a certain resistance to camping, but grateful to be out of the havoc that was Atlanta.

Across from her, Merle was the first to stand and raise the truck door, jumping down and stalking back into camp in sullen silence. Daisy and the rest soon followed, Andrea ahead of them having a touching reunion with 'Amy' who looked enough like her that Daisy deduced them to be sisters. Daisy backed up and made her way around the back of the truck and to the driver's side window, which she rapped her knuckles against to catch Rick's attention, who looked lost in thought. Rick startled, then opened the door at seeing Daisy.

"May I help you, ma'am?" He drawled with a smirk, she raised her eyebrows back at him.

"Yes, _Officer Rick_ …I'm in need of an upstanding pal to help me get in the good favours of our new group!" Daisy stood back and swept an arm inviting him to join her.

"Hey, new guys! Come say hello!" Daisy heard Morales call out for them, Rick walked ahead of her. "Guy's a cop, like you." Morales continued. Beside her, Rick had stopped in place and Daisy looked ahead to see a familiar face staring at him in shock; it was the guy from the picture she had found at the police station, curly black hair and big nose, though currently sans smirk.

"Dude, it's your cop buddy!" Daisy noted, bemused at the coincidence. Beside her Rick seemed to waver in place.

"Oh my God." He murmured and started forward, leaving Daisy alone and feeling at a loss.

"Dad! Dad!" A kid was screaming at Rick and running towards him, Daisy's eyes widened at realising it must be his son Carl, and that the woman that was beside him was Rick's wife. They met in the middle and Rick hugged his son to him, dropping to his knees then picking him up, walking over to Lori who looked…incredibly shocked.

"Mission accomplished." Daisy muttered to herself, smile so wide it was hurting her cheeks at the ridiculously cute and heart-warming sight before her. She started forward and slunk up beside Andrea and her sister, both were watching the reunion as well. "Goddamn adorable." Daisy said to them, both giving her a cursory glance before wrapping themselves up together again. She felt both happy for Rick and entirely alone, especially with her own family's fate being unknown.

Hours later, Daisy found herself just existing on a nearby lawn chair, the sun laying low but not quite beneath the horizon. She was rummaging in her backpack, taking mental stock when she discovered another of those blessed, bright-green packets.

"Praise be to Reese's." She mumbled to herself as she tore open the packet and took a bite of the Peanut Butter Cup. Daisy leant her head back and closed her eyes as she revelled in the small comfort.

"Hello?" A quiet voice sounded from near her head, Daisy jumped in surprise and the rest of the PB cup fell onto the dirt near her feet. She looked up with wide, sardonically heartbroken eyes to see Rick's son Carl staring back at her and a little girl beside him, both with eyes as wide as her own.

"Why?" Daisy cried softly as she crumpled the empty packet in her hand, after a moment's silence for her lost brethren, she turned her attention back to her backpack and noticed a slightly smushed Hershey bar lying innocently under a bra. "Yes! When one door closes, another opens and gives you more chocolate…" Daisy fished the chocolate bar out and opened it, taking a bite then turning a content smile to the two children before her. "How may I help you two chickens today?" Carl scrunched his nose up indignantly and the little girl let loose a tiny smile.

"I'm not a chicken…" He mumbled, getting off track.

"Oh, _I'm sorry_ , Mr Grimes, was it?" Daisy straightened her shoulders and jokingly looked down her nose at him for a second, before letting loose a chuckle and continuing, "How can I help you, little dudes?"

"Uh, Dad told me that you helped him in the hospital…then in Atlanta." Carl started, "And I wanna thank you?" He looked at her with pleading eyes. Daisy caught his subconscious signal and looked up to see his mother standing just behind him.

"Oh, hey there!" Daisy greeted Lori, who gave her a terse smile and a nod of acknowledgment. She turned her attention back to the kid. "No problemo, Carl's Junior. And…?" Daisy looked expectantly at the little girl with a welcoming smile.

"Sophia." She replied softly, smiling wider.

"Uh, Carl's Junior?" Carl interrupted, Daisy turned her attention back to him.

"It's a restaurant… _well_ , I wouldn't necessarily say restaurant…but, I digress…I am glad to have helped your father. He seems to be a great guy." She shot him a smile, relieving him and his mother of their unspoken duty. "Yo, want some?" Daisy held the chocolate bar out to the kids who almost leapt forward for a piece. "Wait, this ok?" She shot over their heads towards Lori who gave her reluctant ascent for the two, so they continued their leap.

"Share it, you monsters. Bye Carlos and Sophia-friend, have fun with that…" Daisy laughed at their eagerness and gave them the bar to split. They thanked her and ran off to continue their adventures, and Lori called out for them to stay close while she approached Daisy herself.

"Thank you, really." Lori said with sincerity, Daisy smile up at her with modesty.

"Ain't nothin' but a thing…" She replied awkwardly, before reaching in to surface another treat, this time a muesli bar. "Man, I didn't know that muesli bars could look so sad." She noted, "I really got the short end o' the snack-stick this time." Daisy laughed up at Lori who gave her a short smile, then left to follow after the rascals.

Daisy leant back in her chair more and kicked her feet out to stretch, catching Rick's eye from across the camp. She shot him two thumbs up and an exaggerated smile, getting a fond smile in return before he went back to his conversation with big-nose friend.

"'Ch'you doin' all on your lonesome, Girlie?" Daisy heard the hoarse voice of Merle interject from behind her, she turned to look up at him with narrowed eyes. He moved around to sit heavily in the lawn chair next to hers, overlooking the camp with hostility. "Lost your pal, huh? Officer _friendly_?"

"He's with his family, can't blame him for that." She said lightly, placing her backpack down on the ground beside her, then looking at the incessantly smug man with suspicion. "What's it to you?"

"Hah, I'm just thinkin' we have somethin' in common, you and I…the rest of these chumps, they leave us alone, treat us like…outsiders…left me to die." Merle looked at her with a slightly raised brow.

"Are you trying to stage a fucking _coup_ , Merle? _Jesus_ Christ, I'll have no part in it…" She leaned in closer to him, widening her eyes to emphasise the following point, "Rick cuffed you to the roof to protect the rest of us; you were high on coke for Christ's sake! He didn't mean for you to be left behind to be eaten by raging cannibals! And, in any case, you weren't left behind, I uncuffed you." Daisy said with obviousness.

" _If_ anybody else had had the choice whether to help me or leave me to die, _they would have left me_!" Merle exclaimed quietly with narrowed eyes, Daisy just sighed in response.

"Maybe, but don't you think that's a reflection on you, not them? Maybe don't do mind-altering drugs and shoot recklessly at walkers…they might come to know the _truly_ beautiful soul within." Daisy said the last words with a sarcastic lilt, gaining a reluctant chuckle from Merle, she smiled at him. "I mean, there are dead people wanting to kill and eat everyone, maybe leave the drugs at home?" She suggested, he looked thoughtful. "In the famous words of Zefron, 'you gotta get your head in the game'." Daisy finished, looking proud at her well-reasoned argument.

"Who th'fuck?" Merle narrowed his eyes at her, Daisy just let loose a chuckle and shook her head in dismissal.

"Never mind…" After a moment, Merle spoke again.

"I might just take you up on that advice, Curly." He said agreeably, standing to leave. One massive hand came down and messed up Daisy's already wild hair, she protested with a squawk and he left with another chuckle trailing after him.

"What a psycho…" Daisy mumbled to herself, trying to restrain her curly hair with a tie. "Still, there's hope for him yet."

Later, after the sun had fully gone down and the group was circled around the fire like they were at some summer camp that Daisy had fortunately never had to go to, Rick was regaling the group with his experience waking from his coma.

"Disoriented, I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion all those things but disoriented comes closest."

"Words can be meagre things." The old man with the rad bucket hat, Dale, piped up from across the fire, Daisy looked between the two thoughtfully, bringing her stick up towards her and blowing on the toasty marshmallow; it seems that post-apocalyptic Daisy really places an importance on collecting candy. "Sometimes they fall short."

"I felt like I'd been ripped outta my life. And put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream…only until Daisy ran at me like a mad woman, talking'a cannibalistic monsters that things became clearer." Rick finished with a huff of a laugh, Daisy smiled over at him.

"Mom said you died." Carl said quietly from where he laid against his dad.

"She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt it." Daisy saw Lori exchange a shifty glance with the big-nose friend, Shane she had later discovered…so, there was some drama there. Thank God, Daisy had thought she had escaped that, she thought sarcastically to herself. Lori started talking and Daisy zoned out, no offense to her, having a non-thinking moment to herself.

Daisy waved the still-cooling marshmallow in the air slightly, then tilted it to the left. "Want one?" She whispered to Amy beside her, who shot her a smile and eased the marshmallow off the stick, tearing it in two to share with her sister. Daisy sighed and put her stick down, zoning back in.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane." Rick said to his friend. "Can't begin to express it."

"There go those words falling short again. Paltry things." Dale added, Daisy was beginning to suspect that he was the Mr Miyagi of this camp. There was a quiet moment, then a soft thud and a crackle sounded from the campfire next to theirs. Daisy looked to see the bright red sparks whoosh into the air after a man had added a log.

"Hey, Ed, wanna rethink that log?" Shane said with false lightness.

"It's cold, man."

"Cold don't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers—so we can't be seen from a distance."

After further resistance from Ed, Shane stood and walked over to their fire, pulling the log out and stamping the flames.

"'Preciate the cooperation." Shane added as he walked away from the sullen Ed. Daisy frowned at the whole confrontation, not sure such hostility was conducive to safe communal living.

"Where's, uh, Merle?" Daisy asked the people around her quietly.

"Psh, probably sulking in his tent…Dixons never _sit around the campfire_." T-Dog informed her, scoffing at Merle while brushing a thumb over his bruised cheek. Daisy became quiet and wary of the relationship between the Dixon brothers and the rest of the camp. She knew that at least Merle was an abrasive person, to say the least, but Daisy was almost certain that if they continued to encourage the segregation of him and his brother like this, someone was gonna get hurt. Merle seemed to like her well enough, maybe she could bridge the gap.


	16. Daybreak

**Chapter Sixteen: Daybreak**

 _Daybreak: the time in the morning when daylight first appears; dawn._

 **Day 61**

Snuggled deep in her sleeping bag, Daisy snorted awake as she was jolted violently by a hand on her shoulder.

"Wh't'fk?" She managed, squinting eyes trying to make out who was crouching beside her just outside the tent opening.

"C'mon Curly…'n be quiet 'bout it." Daisy heard the unmistakeable hoarse voice of Merle, this time at a surprising low level, as he beckoned her out of the tent. Still half asleep, she managed to struggle out of the sleeping bag and into a large parka that she had pilfered some weeks previously.

She ambled out of the tent, quietly zipping it closed behind her so as to not disturb Andrea and Amy, who had allowed her to share their tent for the time being. Daisy saw Merle's vague figure ahead of her so she shuffled in that direction.

"W'sup?" Daisy asked around a yawn, through drooping eyes she saw Merle roll his own. He took her arm firmly and led her away from the camp and further into the forest land, Daisy managing not to trip too heavily on the sticks and rocks littering the floor. They came to a stop some way from camp and Merle clapped his heavy hands once in front of her face, Daisy jolted back and her eyes widened. "Do you mind?" She said defensively, more awake.

"Gotta check the traps." Merle said simply and continued his trek deep into the forest. Daisy stared and then quickly waddled after him.

"Ok, and I am here because…?" She asked confusedly.

"'Cause it's better ta have two people nowadays, and Daryl ain't here." Merle looked back and saw that Daisy was still confused, "And you're _surprisingly_ the only one here who's likely to help me."

"Uh-huh." Daisy said sluggishly, bumping into Merle as he came to an abrupt stop, then into a tree beside her as she was propelled back. "Fucking…" Daisy muttered to herself as she landed against it, "It's too early for this." She said to Merle.

"Psh, almost sunrise." Merle said incredulously as he bent down to check a trap. Daisy's eyes widened as she made out that there was indeed an animal in the trap, an animal that was still moving and squealing. "Yeah! Got ourselves a rabbit…"

Daisy looked on horrified as Merle promptly snapped its neck and untied it from the snare. She felt a bit faint as he set it off to the side and set about retying the snare.

"Fuck me…" Daisy muttered as she plopped down onto her backside and sat against a tree, head falling back with a sigh. Merle looked back at her and scoffed.

"Here…" Merle threw back a small length of rope, "Tie up the rabbit… _dead weight_." He muttered the last two words to himself and Daisy scrunched up her nose in offense. After another deep breath she steeled herself, she had killed her fair share of walkers for God's sake, this should be a piece of cake.

Daisy got the rope from where it had fallen beside her and scuffled forward to where the rabbit laid dead on the ground near Merle.

"Circle of life…" She mumbled encouragingly to herself as she looped the end of the rope around the rabbit's foot, passing it to Merle and standing with him.

Six snares, five rabbits and two hours later, Daisy and Merle were sitting under the canopy of a large tree, splitting a piece of jerky between them that Merle had remembered to bring. Daisy sighed, catching her breath after the long walk around the camp, the sun had risen and the light was shining in her eyes, so she flipped her hood over them.

"There are…how many in the camp?" She queried, eyes narrowed and head tilted back to look at Merle, he gave her a side-eye and thought for a moment.

"'Bout twenty-five, thirty." Daisy picked up the end of the rope and jiggled the line of dead rabbits, a questioning look directed at him. "Psh, yeah…ain't gonna feed shit. Too many people, an on'y me 'n Daryl can hunt, an' trap." Daisy was quiet for a moment.

"Seems a bit ill-advised…how is everyone getting fed?" She asked, concerned.

"The Chinese kid been scavengin', they have some cans an' shit stored, but that ain't gonna be enough soon." Merle finished his piece of jerky, then spit off to the side causing Daisy to scrunch up her nose in disgust. He stood and adjusted the rabbit string over his shoulder, starting off back to camp. She stood and followed him, shaking her hood back and mussing up her bedhead.

"So, basically, we're fucked?" Daisy said hopelessly. Merle chuckled ahead of her.

"Fuck, yeah."

"Guess I picked a good time to join up…" She trailed off, hopping over a fallen log.

Twenty minutes later they emerged from the brush and re-joined civilisation. Walking with Merle, Daisy could see how one would feel unwelcome, with the majority of the group either not acknowledging their presence, or shooting a suspicious glance towards them. Merle through the line of rabbits onto a fallen log near his secluded camp site, Daisy sat next to them, careful for them not to touch her.

"Here." Merle abruptly handed Daisy a knife, sitting on a tree stump a few feet in front of her.

"And what am I s'posed to do with this?" She asked with hesitation, holding the weirdly fat knife awkwardly in front of her.

"You're gonna skin 'em." Merle said resolutely, kicking up his feet on the log beside her, one hand placing a cigarette between his lips, and the other flicking a lighter to light it. Daisy once again scrunched up her nose but didn't otherwise complain.

"I've never skinned an animal before…as a matter of fact I think I once attended a rally specifically against doing so…" Daisy said frankly, staring at Merle unamused.

"Fuck that, yer gonna have'ta learn sometime. It's a _new world_ , Darlin'."

Daisy continued to stare at him, until reaching the conclusion that he did have a point—no time nowadays for humanitarian bullshit…the circle of life. She picked up the end of the rope and delicately untied the closest rabbit. Daisy looked around Merle's camp, then decided that she needed better working conditions, and looked back at the group's camp.

"C'mon, you can teach me on the picnic table over there." Daisy picked up the line, one rabbit and the skinning knife still in hand, and made her way over. Merle followed her grumbling and moaning for having to move, Daisy just rolled her eyes unsympathetically.

She laid the line on the table and set the loose rabbit in front of her, bringing the knife up above it then pausing.

"Now, what the fuck do I do?" Daisy looked up at Merle with wide eyes.

" _Skin it_." He said obviously.

"No shit, I mean _how_? In case you haven't noticed, I've never skinned a rabbit before." Merle sighed in exasperation and slid the rabbit over to himself, snatching the knife off her and promptly sliced the rabbit's head off.

"Fucking _fuck_." Daisy squealed as she leant away from where the now-headless rabbit was oozing blood onto the table.

"Calm down, pussy." Merle muttered, then gave the same treatment to the feet of the rabbit. Daisy paled further when he made a cut on its back and essentially slipped off the skin and fur.

"I don't know if I can…" Daisy mumbled faintly.

"Yes, you can, now deal with it…" Merle removed the insides, then set the rabbit back on the table. "Now all ya gotta do is rinse it off, and give it to the women to cook." He chuckled when he saw that Daisy looked close to fainting, then ruffled her wild hair with a large hand. "All done, Girly…jus' five more to go." He stalked off and left Daisy to stare wide-eyed at the remaining rabbits.

So, after much gagging and shivering, a total of six readied rabbits sat on the bench in front of her. Daisy smiled wide with her accomplishment, just so happening to catch the eye of a perplexed Andrea.

"Uh…" Daisy's smile dropped and she trailed off, Andrea just narrowed her eyes and stalked off towards her sister. "Woof, I am not getting off to a great start with that one…" She shrugged, nothing she could do about it, and gathered the rabbits in her hands, shuffling over to the middle of the camp where Carol stood folding laundry on an ironing board.

"Hey…uh, anywhere I can put these?" Daisy said with a sheepish smile and wide eyes, Carol looked up and gave her a small smile and a nod.

"Of course…" Carol looked around then recovered a large bucket from the fire pit behind her.

"They're all ready to…prepare and cook!" Daisy dropped them unceremoniously in, then wiped her dirty hands on her similarly dirty jeans. "I've never skinned a rabbit before, so…let me know if there are any troubles, or if you need help cookin' 'em…I mean, if you're okay with shit cooking." She shot Carol a wry smile, getting another small one in return.

"Morning." Carol said, looking to the side. Daisy turned to see Rick approaching.

"Morning." He replied.

"Hey, there…" Daisy smirked at him, "You're up late…get some good lovin'?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively, he sighed exasperatedly in return.

"Okay, Daisy…settle down." Daisy just widened her smirk to a smile.

"You're lucky, Merle woke me up at the _ass crack_ o' dawn, took me into the middle of the woods and made me watch him snap the necks of Thumper's pals…then he dumped 'em on me, I had to skin them!" She gave a half-hearted scowl off towards the direction of where Merle was lounging in his camp. " _Fucker._ " She mumbled to herself.

"They're still a little damp. Sun'll have 'em dry in no time." Carol said, patting Rick's pile of clothes.

"You washed my clothes?"

"Well, best we could. Scrubbin' on a washboard ain't half as good as my old Maytag back home."

"That's very kind."

"Thank you." With a quick pat to Daisy's head, Rick left Carol and Daisy to their devices.

" _What is it about my hair that makes you people wanna pet me_...am not a goddamn dog." Daisy stalked off after bidding Carol adieu, flipping her hood up again to detract any wayward head-patters. She walked towards Merle's camp and sat down with him on the log.

"You done, kid?" He asked, eyes narrowing in on her.

" _Yes_ , mother…I'm done." Merle's eyes narrowed impossibly further.

"Don't call me _mother_ , goddamn crazy person." Merle shook his head and shoved her to the side so she landed on the dirt.

" _What the fuck_?" She cried, jumping up and brushing the dirt off her ass.

" _Oh, Lord,_ not the _jeans_!" Merle cried mockingly, lighting up a cigarette and nodded to the main camp, hinting that she leave him. Daisy did so, dragging her feet and sulking to herself.

"Ungrateful son of a dick-wiener…next time he can skin his own animals…so gross…why did I even—?"

"How ya doin' there, _Daisy_." She heard a voice interject from her right, Daisy jumped back and looked up to see Rick's friend Shane standing tall with crossed arms and a suspicious expression on his face.

"Uh, I'm good, thanks." Daisy smiled hopefully, wanting to not be on this end of that look.

"You been talkin' with Dixon?"

"Oh, yeah…he just took me with him to check out the traps, and taught me to skin the rabbits he caught." Daisy scratched an itch on her shoulder awkwardly.

"Don't know if that's such a good idea, Daisy." Shane said, stepping closer to her, which caused the already quite short Daisy to tilt her head back further.

"Uh, well, he seems alright…if a bit self-serving. But, I now know how to skin rabbits, so?" Daisy finished with a slight laugh and a reluctant smile. Shane gave her a warm but suspicious smile in return.

"Yeah, OK. You just look out for yourself with that one, huh?" He clapped her on the shoulder and stalked off. Daisy looked after him confusedly, thinking that perhaps she should take Shane's advice but in dealing with Shane himself rather than Merle, he already seemed pretty shifty to Daisy.


	17. Ally

**Chapter Seventeen: Ally**

 _Ally: a person or organization that cooperates with or helps another in a particular activity._

 **Day 61**

After some time meandering aimlessly around the camp, Daisy had ended up at Merle's camp once again; he seemed her strongest ally as of yet. She had a few pieces of coloured string in hand and was trying to demonstrate how a friendship bracelet was made. Merle being Merle, he quickly denounced the practice and set about teaching Daisy how to use string for more practical purposes, namely tying snares.

Two ruined traps later Daisy was smiling meekly at Merle, who was pacing back and forth, fuming.

"Never, in my entire life, have I met a more _incapable_ …" Merle trailed off, "Just, sit down, don't make trouble." He pushed Daisy down to sit on the log and took the snare in hand, beginning to tie it himself, shaking his head. " _Goddamn useless woman_." Daisy scrunched up her nose in indignation as he muttered to himself. She deflated soon after, realising that there was never much point in arguing with Merle.

"So, don't you have a brother, _Daryl_?" Daisy asked him in an appeasing tone. He glanced at her with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah." Merle said shortly.

"Well…where is he?"

"Out huntin'. Ain't I told you this earlier? Girly, don't waste my time with dumbshit questions." Merle snapped at her, she raised her hands in peace.

"Man, I was just askin'…" She mumbled to herself. Merle opened his mouth to reply but they were interrupted by a shrill scream, the camp around the erupted with alertness.

"Shit, that's prob'ly Darylina now." Merle said disinterestedly, continuing to tie the string around itself with practiced skill. Daisy looked at him with incredulity and a bit of amusement at the nickname, then looked to where the screams had originated.

"Dad!" "Mommy!" "Help!" Daisy heard faint shouts from wheat were apparently some of the kids from camp.

"Uh, shouldn't we help?" She asked Merle with alarm, standing and peering over at the others.

"Psh, _Officer Friendly_ and his pal got it _all_ covered." Daisy sat back down with some trepidation, humming distractedly in assent. She sat quietly for some time, suddenly feeling very tired, her new group's apparent dislike and disinterest in her becoming very apparent with her now having to band up with Merle Dixon.

"What d'you think it was?" Daisy asked after a while.

"One'a them dead sum'bitches, they been comin' up the mountain more and more." Merle furrowed his brow in concentration as he tied a final knot in his project, he set it down. "Gonna have ta move real soon, 'fore the camp gets overrun with the walkers leavin' the city." Daisy gave him a wry smile at the prospect.

"'course, I find a supposedly safe place, it turns out to not be safe at all."

"We livin' in the apocalypse, Girly. Ain't nowhere safe anymore." Merle finished, Daisy bowed her head in disappointment, looking at her boots which wiggled in the dirt.

"Merle!" A shout came from the camp, both looked up. "Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! Got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up." The man who shouted came upon then in Merle's camp, stopped when he saw Daisy sitting there with wide eyes.

"Th'fuck's this?" He asked Merle confusedly, turning around to rummage around in the bed of their truck.

"New girl." Merle said briefly, standing up with a groan and walking over to his brother, getting the aforementioned string of squirrels. Daryl looked back over towards their newcomer.

"Daisy." She told him, he just narrowed his eyes at her, then looked away and gave a slight nod. Daisy sat there a few minutes longer but, seeing that she had inadvertently been dismissed, she stood and wandered back to the main camp.

"Hey! Daisy!" Daisy stuttered in her steps as she heard her name be shouted, turning to see Carl and his friend Sophia rushing towards her.

"Carl, Soph? Was'sup?" She smiled widely at the two, both looked very enthusiastic; a stark contrast to herself, but she was grateful for the vicarious excitement.

"We were attacked by a _walker_." Carl said, eyes widening for emphasis. Daisy huffed a slightly terrified laugh at his dismissal of the danger, but prompted him to elaborate. "Yeah, it was eating this deer, but then it started coming at us like AGHH," Carl raised up his arms high into the air and made a grabbing motion with his hands clawed, "But we ran so quick, it didn't get us! Then Dad and Shane got it!"

"Oh, well…I'm glad you're not hurt." Daisy offered, thinking for a moment then continuing, "Have you learnt any lessons from this absolutely _terrifying_ encounter?" She narrowed her eyes at the two, thinking it more important to prevent further attacks than encourage them. Carl deflated somewhat, then sighed.

"Don't go into the woods without someone big to protect you." He said monotonously, Daisy hummed in agreement, then changed her tune.

"Awesome, now tell me more about this _walker_ fellow, did he look gross?" Daisy inquired, making Carl light up once more, along with Sophia beside him, then he continued to wax poetically about his and Sophia's near death experience. Daisy manoeuvred herself into the seat of a nearby park bench, the two kids sitting opposite her, and listened to them with diligence.

Daisy scratched at the cracked green paint of the wood, wincing at a small splinter that made its way into the side of her finger. As she picked it out carefully, there was a dull thud on the table and she jumped. Across from her, Carl and Sophia started to squeal and scrambled away from the table and hurried off to their mothers.

Daisy stared with wide eyes at the squirrel carcasses that had been slammed onto the table, then her head slowly turned to Merle, who stood beside her with a smug grin overtaking his face, his brother Daryl standing silently behind him.

"What the _actual fuck_ , Merle…way to scar them for life." Daisy shook her head and glanced back at the squirrels, then continued exasperatedly, "And what am I supposed to do with these?"

"Skin 'em." Merle informed her shortly, then sat his skinning knife in front of her and left her in silence.

"Ah, man…" Daisy lamented, sighing as she picked up the knife. Grabbing the nearest squirrel, she placed it in front of her and gripped the knife with nervous fingers; still not entirely used to preparing animals for eating.

"I'll do 'em." She heard Daryl mumble from beside her, then he sat opposite her and grabbed a squirrel, promptly separating its head from its body. Daisy blinked at the abruptness, and looked up at him. She said nothing and after a few moments followed suit, doing the same to her squirrel, he glanced up at the thud of the knife landing in the wood of the table. "Merle told me that you did five rabbits earlier…already contributed more than most here." Daryl continued.

Daisy caught his eyes and gave him a quick smile, reassuring him, "It's fine, really…just complaining for the sake of complaining." She looked down at her decapitated squirrel. "I mean, it's pretty fucking gross, but I can deal. Nothin' else to do."

Daryl gave a short nod then they fell into silence once more, both continuing with their respective jobs. After Daisy had finished her squirrel and Daryl had finished three, he paused and looked somewhat brooding.

"Why you been hangin' around Merle?" Daryl said with trepidation, eyes narrowed at Daisy. She thought for a moment before replying.

"Honestly, he's been the only welcoming person here." Daisy smiled at Daryl's disbelieving look. "It's true! The others all kinda just leave me alone, he…put me to work, has me skinning animals. I mean, Jesus, I grew up in L.A., I haven't done anything even resembling hunting a day in my life." She paused, "It's just nice, I guess. Not being dismissed like I usually am, Merle taught me something real _useful_."

Daisy set her finished squirrel off to the side and picked up another, seeing that Daryl still looked suspicious, she looked off to the side thoughtfully, "I mean, when we were in Atlanta he was a total crazy person, 'cause of the drugs…but he seems alright now, if a bit vengeful."

"Vengeful?" Daryl repeated, Daisy looked at him with wide eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Rick, the guy I was with before now, he's a cop. So, he cuffed Merle to a pipe on the roof of this building. Merle thinks that if I hadn't gotten the key and uncuffed him, they would've left him there to die." She finished with an awkward smile and a shrug.

"Would they have?" Daryl asked seriously, brow furrowed. Daisy gave him a confused smile.

"'Course not." She huffed a small laugh, but Daryl still seemed doubtful.

"Hmm." He continued with his fourth squirrel.

"They wouldn't have." Daisy said with seriousness to match his, her head leaning forward to catch Daryl's eyes with hers. He glanced up and then down again, nodding his head dismissively. Daisy sat back with uneasiness, the surety of her own words not being entirely believed by herself either. Her brow furrowed and she tapped a finger on the fluffy tail in front of her, flinching as she remembered the state of the tail's owner; that is, quite dead.

"Daisy." Both Daisy and Daryl turned to see Rick approaching their bench.

"Hey, man! How goes it?" Daisy smiled wide at him, he gave her a quick smile back.

"Alright, 's good." He nodded distractedly. "Uh, me an' a few of the others're gonna go back into Atlanta, get that bag of guns." Daisy's eyes widened as she remembered the huge haul that she had dropped after they were attacked by walkers.

"Fuck." She muttered quietly, looking down at the table. "I'll come with, then." Daisy paused before looking up at Rick and continuing earnestly, "Shit, I'm _so_ sorry."

"Hey, now, it was not your fault, Daisy. If I had the bag, I woulda dropped it too." Rick reassured her. "But I would welcome you to come, we're leavin' real soon." Daisy's smile grew back.

"Yeah." She said quietly, Rick gave her and Daryl a nod goodbye and left them, Daisy stood from the bench. "Hey, you gonna come?" Daisy asked Daryl with an expectant smile. He glanced up at her, still looking uneasy. "Saw that crossbow…it'd be great to have your help?" Daisy prompted him.

"Fine." Daryl said shortly, standing up with her. Daisy smiled to herself in triumph and gathered the remaining squirrels in her arms.

"Can give these to Merle, huh." Daisy proposed, "He could use some work." She joked, prodding Daryl lightly with an elbow as they started towards the Dixons' camp.

Daisy dropped the pile of squirrels onto the stump in the middle of their camp. While Daryl went to get his crossbow, Daisy nudged Merle with a foot, he startled where he was napping in a chair.

"Shit, Girl, what?" He said grumpily, blinking the tiredness from his eyes.

"Daryl and I are going with the group to get the bag of guns we dropped, you can skin the rest of the squirrels." Daisy said firmly, Merle scoffed at her.

"Who are you, my Ma?" Daisy remained steadfast and raised her brow at him. "Shit, fine…" Merle shook his head and took his proffered knife from Daisy, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. Daisy gave him a bright smile for his compliance, and bounded off to her own tent, where she rummaged amongst hers, Andrea and Amy's mess before finding her backpack and then her knife.

Daisy exited the tent then stood, almost immediately seeing Daryl waiting for her a few feet away, adjusting the crossbow's strap along his back. She strode over and past him, he followed her until they reached the truck where the others were gathered.

"Hey." Daisy greeted Rick, he glanced at her and then at the brooding man behind her. "Daryl's coming with." She informed him, then lifted herself up and into the back of the truck, she sat to the side with a sigh. The others began to enter the truck too, sitting along the sides as she did. Daryl sat across from her and she gave him a quick smile, his eye twitched and he looked away, making Daisy's smile wider.


	18. Expedition

**Chapter Eighteen: Expedition**

 _Expedition: a journey undertaken by a group of people with a particular purpose._

 **Day 61**

"Bit'a overkill, ain't it?" Daryl piped up as the truck came to a shaking stop just inside Atlanta on the deserted train tracks, he looked at Daisy across from him, then Glenn and Rick who were in the front seat. "Four people for a bag'a guns?"

"Not in the city, man…earlier we were overrun by about a thousand." Glenn replied from the front, glancing back at Daryl with widened eyes. Daryl remained silent and stood when the truck had fully stopped, pulling the heavy door up with Daisy's help.

"Maybe a hundred…" Daisy corrected, shaking her head at Glenn's exaggeration. "Still a lot, though...more the merrier." She jumped down, feet landing with a satisfying thud.

"We can walk from here." Glenn said as he and Rick joined them, her and Daryl followed behind them as they passed, Daryl with his crossbow in hand and Daisy with her knife. The four of them walked along the tracks, following them for a few minutes until they reached the street near where the bag was dropped.

Rick led the others through a large hole in the chain link fence, jumping over a guard rail and jogging down the street.

"You know the geography, how we doin' this?" Rick asked Glenn, who was red-faced and breathless beside him as they jogged along.

"Uh, down this street…alley to the left, down the next street, another alley…" Glenn trailed off, then continued, "How 'bout I just lead?" He took the lead and they followed the worldly pizza delivery boy down many twisting, hidden alleys until they surfaced just near the street. Glenn paused for a moment, ushering the others to remain in the alley.

"I…" He started. "Even four people, we'll attract too much attention."

"Wh—?" Rick started to protest.

"No, I'm the one who's raided the city since the beginning, I'm good at this. I should get the bag alone."

"Then, why're we here?" Daisy interjected, Glenn looked at her then thought for a moment.

"Back-up." He said simply, Daisy gave a sceptical hum in response.

"You're not doing this alone." Rick remained steadfast, Daryl stirred beside Daisy.

"Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you much." Daisy smiled wryly at Daryl's blunt honesty, then at Glenn's offended frown.

"It's a good idea." Glenn reiterated. "Okay, if you just hear me out…going with a group, we'd be slow and we'd draw attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast. The tank, it's five blocks away…the alley I dragged you into when we first met—" He nodded at Rick, "That's where Daryl and I'll go—"

"Why me?" Daryl asked confusedly.

"Your crossbow is quieter than his gun, and better than Daisy's knife. No offence." Glenn directed the last words to Daisy with an apologetic half-smile. Daisy just gave a mildly amused snort of agreement, then waved for him to continue. "While Daryl waits in the alley, I run into the street and grab the bag."

"Where'll we be?" Daisy asked, gesturing between her and Rick.

"You'll be in the next alley, two blocks away…just in case the walkers cut me off and I can't get back to Daryl. You'll all cover me, from your places. Afterwards, we'll all meet up back in this alley." Glenn finished.

Daisy gave an impressed nod at Glenn's comprehensive plan, beside her Daryl asked, "Hey, kid, what'd you do before all this?"

"Delivered pizzas. Why?" Glenn looked confused, Daisy gave a startled laugh, remembering how far they had come since Glenn had ran into her on D-Day.

Sometime later, the group split in two, with Daisy and Rick convening in their assigned alley. They waited their silently for a while, not hearing any telling disturbances save the occasional walker collision.

"So…I hear you've named my son after a fast-food restaurant?" Rick's drawling voice broke the silence suddenly, startling Daisy from her bored stupor.

"Wh—?" Daisy thought for a moment confused at his meaning before she suddenly realised, "Oh, haha. Carl's Junior…ugh, way to snitch." She jokingly cursed Carl's spilling of the never-secret beans. Rick gave her a half-smile.

"He really likes you, you know?" Rick told her, she smiled, pleasantly surprised.

"Probably that, uh, Hershey Bar I gave him and Sophia when we met." She joked. "Candy…always wins over children…" Daisy furrowed her brow at the implications of that. "Not in that way…" She covered her bases, Rick just shook his head with amusement and moved forward to glance around the corner into the street.

"How're you fittin' in?" Rick called back to her softly, furrowing his brow. Daisy looked at him questioningly, so he elaborated, "Sorry I haven't been around this past day…" Daisy rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

"You just reunited with your wife and son, Rick…" Daisy wrinkled her nose at him in amusement, adding, "I _think_ I'll let this one slide." Rick conceded with a modest huff of laughter. Daisy looked down for a moment, then her face smoothed in seriousness, she looked up and said, "I am glad for you, though. It's really great that you found them. So soon, too."

Despite her authenticity, her head dipped back down as her face became drained in sadness. Rick realised what had gotten her so uncharacteristically down again and moved towards her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We'll find yours too, y'know? Your family." Rick reassured her, Daisy looked up at him with a hesitant smile, not entirely believing that such a coincidence was liable to happen twice. "We will." He reiterated, Daisy took a sharp breath and nodded dismissively, getting up from where she had been seated and pacing towards the entrance to the alley.

Daisy flinched minutely as she saw a walker immediately across the street from her, its growls echoed softly towards her. She perked up and her head tilted in confusion as she heard a shout from further up the street. Daisy shot a look at Rick who also looked worried.

"You hear that?" Rick asked offhandedly, starting towards the street, Daisy nodded. There was another shout. And another. Rick started forward with Daisy close behind, they ran up the street dodging roadblocks. The shouts began unintelligible yells. As they came closer they heard several people shouting, then what sounded like a moan of pain.

Rick turned down an alley, Daisy following him, then as they rounded the corner they saw Daryl shoving an unknown teenager against the wall.

"Whoa, whoa! Stop it!" Rick yelled at Daryl as he came between the two, restraining him. Daisy stopped and glanced to the side at the terrified kid, then back at the struggling Daryl.

"I'm gonna kick you nuts up into your throat!" Daryl shouted as Rick continued to hold him back. Daisy looked back over at the kid whose eyes darted to the side, presumably looking for an escape. So Daisy backed up into his line of sight and raised her knife up fractionally, giving him a warning look. "They took Glenn! Little bastard and his little bastard homie friends!" Daryl explained, yelling at him.

The kid looked even more panicked, flinching forward, but he was slammed back against the wall by Daisy's hands on his chest. Daisy grunted as she struggled to keep him in place with her full body weight behind her hands.

"Little help here." She managed, Rick came over and took her place, Daryl starting forward.

"I'm gonna stomp your ass!" Daryl shouted, Daisy stepped in front of him with hands raised.

"Whoa, not helping, man." She looked at him with pleading eyes and he stopped in place, fuming. Daisy's attention was grabbed by the rattling of the fence behind him, the walkers were growling louder and grasping for them. "We gotta go." Daisy said resolutely, backing away from the swaying fence, heading down the alley.

She led the group, Rick, Daryl and the new kid, back through the sprawling streets and alleys to the best of her abilities without Glenn there, they soon arrived at the alley that had been sheltered in before. Daisy ushered Daryl and Rick, who held onto the kid, into the alley in front of her and looked behind them, determining the lone walker stirring slightly on the ground to be a non-issue. Rick pushed the kid down against the wall of the alley and started to pace, eyes jumping wildly around with alertness at the possibility of a walker threat.

"Those men you were with, we need to know where they went." He started, trying to sound diplomatic for the scared kid.

"I ain't telling you nothing." The kid replied, eyes hard.

"Double negative." Daisy mumbled to herself, the others glanced at her but she gave them a weak smile and shook her head dismissively; it seemed to be a common phenomenon in the South. "What happened back there?" Daisy asked Daryl, changing the subject.

"Told you, this little turd and his douche bag friends came outta nowhere and jumped me!" Daryl's hackles rose defensively. "They took Glenn." Rick nodded thoughtfully, then lowered himself to the kid's level.

"The men you were with took our friend. All we wanna do is talk to them, see if we can work somethin' out." Rick said calmly. The kid was attentive, he gulped and looked between the three people, giving a tiny nod after some time.

One very tame interrogation later, Daisy, Rick, Daryl and the kid had arrived at the headquarters of the kid's group. Daisy peered through overgrown vines at the rustic wooden door that was supposedly where the kid's group were holding Glenn, then glanced sideways at Rick.

"Sure you're up for this?" Rick asked her, Daisy replied in the affirmative and picked up the elusive bag of guns.

"Good luck." She said her farewell, wiggling her eyebrows at them light-heartedly, getting a smile from Rick and a weird side-eye from Daryl. Daisy stalked off, pulling the bag up higher on her shoulder. Behind her she heard Daryl threatening the kid with an arrow to the ass, and she smiled to herself.

Daisy hummed to herself as she walked out of the scrub and onto the backroad, her eyes narrowed as she looked around, finally deciding upon a nice, large rock to seat herself upon. Daisy had been tasked with protecting the guns from the kid's group, if Rick and the others failed in their negotiations, she would have to return to camp without them, but still with the guns.

After what seemed an eternity, Daisy was kicking tiny rocks around with her boots when she heard a commotion ahead of her. She perked up nervously, hand gripping the strap of the bag, ready to leap off the rock and run. And…it was her group.

"Shit…" She sighed in relief, then stood and walked over to them, dragging the bag along with her. "How'd it go…" Daisy asked rhetorically, as she eyed the kid that was still there, no Glenn in sight.

"Not well." Rick said lightly, his gun held low in defeat. "They want the guns and Miguel." He passed her and slumped onto her now empty rock.

"Miguel?" Daisy mumbled to herself, happy to have a name for the kid. She nodded her head in acknowledgement to him and he just glared at her, scrunching up his face and spitting on the ground near her feet. "Well, _shit_ …that was _entirely_ unnecessary!" Daisy lamented, rolling her eyes and scuffling away from Miguel's loogie.

"Watch it." Daryl said firmly, pushing Miguel so he stumbled forward.

Daisy turned to see Rick sit higher on his seat, holding out his hand to her. She passed him the heavy bag of guns and he set it on the ground in front of him, unzipping it. Daisy stood listless for a moment, sharing an uneasy glance with Daryl beside her.

"So…what are we gonna do…" Daisy started uncertainly, lips quirking into a smile as she finished, "O' _fearless_ leader?"


	19. Stand-Off

**Chapter Nineteen: Stand-off**

 _Stand-off: a deadlock between two equally matched opponents in a dispute or conflict._

 **Day 61**

Rick sat for a moment, Daryl, Daisy and their captive looking to him for guidance. He gave Daisy a flat look at her calling him their 'fearless leader,' but soon set about devising a plan to trade their captive, Miguel, for Glenn.

"Them guns're worth more than gold." Daryl added stubbornly, "Gold won't protect your family or put food on the table. You're willing to give that up for that kid?"

"Glenn saved us, from the tank." Daisy said to Rick resolutely, "So, I say yes." She looked around the small group, prompting their answers.

"Who's to say they ain't just gonna kill us, take the guns." Daryl interjected, eyes narrowed.

"G ain't no backstabber!" Miguel defended his group, Daryl started and moved towards him, grabbing the front of Miguel's shirt.

"Keep your mouth shut! Ain't a part of this…" Daisy moved towards them, but Daryl huffed and let go, backing away.

"He deserves to be saved." Rick said firmly, agreeing with Daisy, his eyes flashed in warning at Daryl. Daryl scoffed and crossed his arms, grumbling beside Daisy's side, but not protesting otherwise.

"Just gonna hand the guns over?" Daryl asked impatiently.

"I didn't say that." Rick replied, Daisy's expression lightened in hope. "You two should get out, head back to camp." Daisy startled in indignation.

"Are you kidding? We're all in!" Daisy exclaimed, looking to Daryl who was otherwise neutral. She narrowed her eyes at him pointedly, he rolled his own then nodded reluctantly. "'Sides, what the hell would I tell your boy? 'Sorry, your dad was abandoned _again_ '?" Daisy scoffed, Rick looked sorry for doubting her.

"Think before you speak, _Rick_." Daisy finished, narrowing her eyes at him amusedly. "Onto business!" She prompted him with a wave of her hand.

"Course," Rick huffed a self-deprecating laugh, "Here." Rick loaded a shotgun from the bag then handed it to Daisy, she held it delicately in her hands. While Daisy stared apprehensively at her shotgun, Rick and Daryl loaded up their own.

"I…do _not_ know how to shoot a gun…let alone a…" Daisy admitted as her eyes drifted along the length of the gun, she trailed off.

"Don't have'ta know." Daryl told her, he set his on the table, "Just have'ta make it look like ya can." He guided her elbow up, her hands instinctively moved into place, knowing how only from likely-incorrect action movies.

"Like this?" Daisy asked confidently. Daryl narrowed his eyes and hummed, giving an unenthusiastic nod.

"Good enough…bit less stiff, though." He ordered. Daisy scoffed a laugh and followed his direction, trying to seem like she'd actually held a loaded gun before that moment. It seemed that growing up in LA had done nothing for her life post-apocalypse, gun-wise at least.

One nervous and tense trek later, Rick, Daisy, Daryl and Miguel had arrived back at the warehouse in which Miguel's group were camped out. Daryl had one hand outstretched, guiding Miguel to walk in front of them, now with an added gag. The heavy warehouse doors slid open to reveal the gang.

Daisy nervously shifted the shotgun in her arms, putting on a brave face as she followed the others into the warehouse, glancing around at the significant amount of armed men, none of whom looked entirely happy to see their man be led through by their apparent enemy. There was a heavy thud as the doors slid shut behind them, they came to a stop amongst Miguel's group, the leader, Guillermo, stood before them.

"I see my guns, but they're not all in the bag." Guillermo said tersely, Daisy's fingers gripped her gun tighter.

"That's because they're not yours. I thought I mentioned that." Rick replied neutrally.

"Let's just shoot these fools right now, esé. Alright? Unload on their asses, esé." One of the men that had gathered around added, Daisy's eyes widened a fraction, she mentally protested; not entirely in the mood to be shot, not that she ever was.

"I don't think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation." Guillermo continued, not acknowledging his lackey.

"No, I'm pretty clear." Rick argued for them. Daisy was distracted as one of the men looked her up and down, smirking at her. Her eyes narrowed, but she turned her attention back to the negotiation, still fond of not being shot. Rick snapped open his pocket knife and cut Miguel's duct-taped hands apart, pushing him forward. "You have our man. I want mine." Guillermo stared unhappily at them, Daisy thought that his hostility did not bode well for them.

"I'm gonna chop up your boy," And, Daisy was right, her heart stuttered in her chest for fear of Glenn's safety, "I'm gonna feed him to my dogs. Three've the evilest, nastiest man-eating bitches you ever saw. I picked 'em up Satan at a yard sale. I told you how it has to be. Are you woefully deaf?"

"My hearing's fine. You said come locked and loaded," Rick cocked his gun, Daryl followed, raising it to point at the man. Daisy followed them reluctantly, hoping that they realised she had yet to learn how to shoot the shotgun she was holding. She let out a quiet and reluctant groan as every one of their adversaries also followed suit, Daisy approximated that she had at least ten guns trained on her, undoubtedly more. "Okay then, we're here."

There was a terse silence, guns raised and ready to shoot. Daisy's throat was dry, she swallowed and looked at Rick and Daryl with covertly terrified eyes. Their saviour came in the form of a light scuffling sound.

"Felipe!" A withered voice called out, Daisy's head snapped to the side and saw an elderly woman shuffling amongst the armed men, who parted for her. "Felipe!"

"Abuela, go back with the others now." One of the men ordered the woman, who was apparently his grandmother. Daisy was confused, but she was beginning to lighten with hope; maybe this was a sign that Guillermo's gang wasn't entirely unfriendly or unreasonable.

"Get that old lady out of the line of fire!" Daryl interjected, Daisy's head snapped back. Her lowered gun reluctantly snapped back up, apparently the others weren't as relieved as she was.

"Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay? This is not the place for you right now." The leader said.

"Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing. He—he needs his asthma stuff. Carlito didn't find it. He needs his medicine." The elderly lady pleaded with him. Guillermo shot them a terse glance, then turned back.

"Felipe, go take care of it, okay? And take your grandmother with you." Felipe tried to urge his grandmother away, but she turned to Daisy, Rick and Daryl.

"Who are these people?" She asked, then approached Rick with hard eyes, "Don't you take him. Felipe's a good boy. He have his trouble, but he pull himself together. We need him here."

"Ma'am, I'm not here to arrest your grandson." Rick reassured her, Daisy realised he was wearing his uniform, she found small amusement in the confusion and her gun lowered once again.

"Then, what do you want him for?"

"He's…helping us find a missing person. Fella named Glenn."

"The Asian boy? He's with Mr. Gilbert. Come, I show you." Felipe's grandmother led Rick through by his hand. Daisy shared a glance with Daryl, and she shrugged her shoulders. He nodded her to go ahead of him, following her with his shotgun lowered but his hands remained tensed to move quickly.

"Let 'em pass." Guillermo allowed reluctantly. As Daisy passed him she gave a short nod, he just remained silent in his hostility, so she hurried past.

They were led out of the warehouse, through a courtyard and into a building. The building appeared much friendlier than the warehouse, it was a retirement home. Daisy's eyes drifted along the hall, looking into rooms as they passed them, seeing elderly people sitting around, most gazing listlessly at nothing. There was a solemnity that pervaded the rooms; Daisy had once visited her grampa in a home, retirement homes were certainly less depressing pre-apocalypse.

Daisy followed Rick into a hall, a few people were sitting silently around tables. They followed Felipe and his grandmother to a group gathered around one of the tables, there was a man in a wheelchair, presumable Mr. Gilbert, who was breathing harshly. Felipe helped him take the asthma medicine, and Daisy felt relief with him as his breathing softened. She looked up to see that Glenn was in the group, also worried for the ailing Mr. Gilbert.

"What the hell is this?" Rick directed at Glenn quietly.

"Asthma attack. Couldn't get his breath all of a sudden."

"You're supposed to be being eaten by dogs…" Daisy managed to add confusedly. Glenn looked at her with equal confusion, then turned and looked behind himself, where Daisy realised there were three Chihuahuas snuggled in a leopard-print bed. The fluffiest of the three was standing at attention and barked sharply at them. Daisy huffed a relieved laugh at them, sharing a wry smile with Glenn. She made her way through the others to Glenn, and threw an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm glad to see you not-mauled by Chihuahuas, Glenn." Daisy squeezed his shoulder, "That woulda been a real bummer." She joked. Daisy's attention was caught by Rick who was arguing off to the side with Guillermo, then she turned back to Glenn. "So, these people…they alright?"

"Uh…yeah, they just want to protect their own." Glenn informed her, his eyes widened expectantly. Daisy nodded in understanding, eyes flicking over to Daryl who had just joined them.

"Glad y'ain't dead." He told Glenn gruffly, who gave a nervous laugh and nodded in thanks. "C'mon." Daryl started off after Rick who was leaving the room with Guillermo, Daisy and Glenn followed him.

One terse meeting later, the group was leaving the retirement home one bag of guns lighter; Rick had decided that Guillermo's group needed the guns more than they did, to protect those who were otherwise unprotected.

"Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat." Glenn broke the silence as they walked along the train tracks towards their van.

"Don't tell anybody." Daisy smiled widely to herself, her chest feeling light despite their apparent setback.

"You've given away half our guns and ammo." Daryl interjected sullenly, the humour dissipated.

"Not _nearly_ half." Rick countered.

"For what…bunch of old farts who're gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long you think they got?"

"How long do any of us?" Daisy saw Rick's point, who was to say that their lives were worth any more than elderly people…certainly not Daisy.

The four remained silent as they reached their van, Daryl rolled up the back and Daisy climbed in after him. She sat against the side with a huff, stretching her arms out in front of her with a yawn. The van started with a putter, and set off back to camp.

After a few minutes of rough road, they reached the highway and Daisy sighed in relief for her aching backside. She tapped her fingers against the metal floor beside her and looked up at Daryl who was sitting with a straight face, Daisy could almost see the irritation rolling off of him in waves.

"So…what's with the hostility?" Daisy asked him privately, Rick and Glenn were chattering to themselves up front. He looked to her sharply, eyes narrowing.

"They're sitting ducks in that home…probably gonna die real soon." He defended himself. Daisy hummed flatly in partial agreement.

"Yeah…but we can defend ourselves in other ways that they can't…you and your bow're probably worth at least three shotguns." Daisy smiled at him hopefully, trying to get him with the compliment. Daryl just scoffed and sat back against the wall. Daisy smiled to herself, and began tapping her finger lightly again, feeling that he had ended their discussion.


	20. Vulnerable

**Chapter Twenty: Vulnerable**

 _Vulnerable: exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed_

 **Day 61**

The sky was a dusky pink and orange with sunset when Daisy, Daryl, Rick and Glenn arrived back at camp. Brakes squeaked as Rick pulled the truck to a stop, the others were gathering around the van to hear of their success, or failure. Daisy squinted her eyes at the dull light that filled the truck, Merle's smirking face appeared as he pulled up the door.

"Ain't dead." Merle noted mockingly, Daisy saw Daryl roll his eyes across from her. He got up and pushed past Merle, jumping down from the truck and skulking off to his camp. Daisy sighed at his sullenness and scooted forward, dropping off the truck and landing beside Merle.

"You sound surprised." Daisy grinned at Merle.

"Daryl's the on'y one'a you who ain't a pussy…figured _math_ emati _cally_ ," Merle enunciated the last word with a sneer, "at least one'd have ta go." Daisy scoffed at him.

"How'd you figure that?"

"Daryl may be good, but he ain't as good as me. I reckon he might be able to help one other person, _hence_ , two gone." Merle raised his brow at her expectantly, Daisy narrowed her eyes and her lip turned up in reluctant acceptance.

"We almost lost Glenn." Daisy admitted as they began to walk around where Rick was reuniting dramatically with his lady love and their progeny to the Dixons' camp.

"Hah. I was half-right…" Merle looked smugger than usual, walking taller. "'Course it'd be the Chinaman, weaker than you I reckon."

"Shit, Merle. Easy on the racism…" Daisy stared wide-eyed at their feet as they trudged across the dirt.

"Oh, I'm sorry Miss Daisy, to have _offended your sensibilities so_!" Merle said the last words in a mockingly light tone.

"You should be." Daisy said flatly, shaking her head. Merle sat in his camp chair with a sigh, which creaked wearily at his weight, and looked up at Daisy with intended snark filling his eyes. Daisy interrupted him as he was about to say something undoubtedly more offensive than he just had, "Catch you on the flip side, Merle." Daisy flitted away on light feet and made her way towards her own tent, shared with the sisters, Andrea and Amy.

Before she could approach her tent, she spotted a messy head of white-blonde hair whose owner was dozing lightly in a chair, wrapped in a sleeping bag. Daisy's head tilted in thought as she paused in her motion to open the tent flap. Her eyes suddenly widened in realisation.

"Kat," She said in a harsh whisper to herself, "Oh, I'm such a shit!" Daisy rushed forward and approached the girl, standing in front of her and placing her hands on either side of the chair. "Kat, what the fuck?" She said louder, smile overtaking her face.

"Wh—?" Kat was startled awake, looking strikingly similar to a baby deer with her long arms flailing out of the top of her sleeping bag. "Daisy? How long'a you been here?" She slurred, sleepy eyes blinking wider.

"I got here yesterday." Daisy managed, dropping down to rest on her knees, suddenly turning serious. "Man, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot…Glenn said you were here." Daisy surged upward and forward, wrapping her long lost friend in a tight hug, burying her face in Kat's unusually limp and scraggly hair. "Oh, man…"

"Daisy, you got here yesterday?" Kat pushed Daisy away from to at arm's length, wide eyes staring into Daisy's own. "You shit!" Kat reiterated, smacking Daisy lightly on the shoulder.

"Where were you? You weren't at dinner last night…" Daisy questioned, then turned in on herself, "I am a shit." She admitted, smiling wryly at her friend. Kat's smile returned and she brought Daisy back into a hug.

"I got stung by a freaking bee!" Kat exclaimed, bringing one arm up for Daisy to see; it was slightly swollen and reddened, "I was laid up in the RV."

"Oh, shit." Daisy stared wide-eyed at the appendage, then looked towards Kat, "You're allergic. How did you not die?" She exclaimed incredulously.

"There's a woman here who's a nurse, Maria, she looked after me after I gave myself the EpiPen." Kat smiled fondly, Daisy huffed a relieved laugh. Kat's expression suddenly turned serious and her smile softened, "I'm glad you're here, Daze."

"God, I'm glad you're here." Daisy hugged Kat to her one last time, her fingers tightened around her shoulders as if she was afraid that Kat would go, her eyes screwed shut to dissuade any tears from falling.

Daisy and Kat retired to Daisy's shared tent, where they snuggled in their respective sleeping bags for hours, to them it felt just like they were kids again, sleeping under the stars of LA, not that the stars were visible in the city; light pollution and all that.

The two were only raised by the call of dinner, the enticing smell of frying salmon filled the air and Daisy's stomach grumbled with her hunger. Daisy led the ailing Kat out of the tent towards the camp, where the group was gathered around multiple fires, chatting happily with full plates in their laps.

"I never thought I'd be so glad to eat _fish_." Kat said wide-eyed as Amy placed a fillet on her plate.

"Who caught these?" Daisy asked the smiling Amy.

"Me and Andrea." Amy shot a happy smile at her sister who was keeping a protective eye on her.

"Thanks, man." Daisy said emphatically, before being led towards the fire by an eager Kat.

Kat plonked down onto the ground, dragging Daisy with her. She let out a huff at the force of her landing, elbowing a giggling Kat in her side.

"Nice." Daisy shook her head and smiled, picking at the fish with her fingers. A hand struck her shoulder and she looked up startled to see Glenn staring at her wide-eyed.

"I forgot! Daisy, there's Kat!" He said guiltily, cracking a nervous smile. Daisy snorted at him and shook her head.

"Yeah, I realise."

"You know each other?" Andrea asked, interested. Beside her, Kat hummed in the affirmative and shook her head up and down.

"We were together when it all started…childhood pals and all that." Daisy informed the group, all of whom were as interested as Andrea. This sort of a close community had always freaked her out, so Daisy remained short, only divulging the basics.

"Oh…" Andrea trailed off awkwardly, before perking up again and continuing, "So what did you do before all this, Daisy?"

"Uh, I was in my last year at UCLA." Daisy shrugged, feeling distractedly annoyed by her lack of skills that were applicable post-apocalypse.

"Studying what?"

"Law." She said shortly, causing Andrea to pause in confusion and no small degree of doubt, but she soon snapped out of her stupor.

"I was a lawyer." Andrea began, the conversation had officially shifted to her and Daisy just sat back as Andrea continued to talk.

"Is it weird that I still feel like we're at some adults-only brunch, sitting at the kiddie table?" Kat mumbled to Daisy, who laughed under her breath in agreement.

"Ugh, I know…you'd think that after the world ended, there'd be more substantial questions than, 'what are you gonna do with your life?'" Daisy smiled contentedly and took another bite of fish, then paused thoughtfully, half-heartedly listening to some soliloquy about Dale's watch.

"Anyone else gotta pee? Buddy system and all that…" Daisy interrupted Dale subtly, raising her voice. Across from her, Amy looked up relieved.

"Yes." She said emphatically, standing and backing up towards the RV. Daisy smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Mind my plate." Daisy whispered to Kat, handing her the half-eaten plate of fish, then she stood and followed Amy. Daisy walked alongside her, they paused as they came to the door of the RV.

"You go…I'll keep watch." Daisy nodded towards the door, Amy smiled gratefully and slipped inside. As the door clicked shut behind her, she leant against it, her eyes scanned the clearing around her.

"Aagh!" Daisy stuttered forward as a surprisingly strong force pushed her forward. She turned quickly, wide-eyed expression giving her the appearance of a stunned lemur. Amy's head stuck out of the doorway, she looked both amused and confused at Daisy's alarmed, defensive stance.

"Hey, can you…stand over there?" Amy pointed a finger to a space some few feet away, "I don't want you to hear…" She trailed off awkwardly. Daisy relaxed and chuckled in amusement.

"Sure thing…shy bladder? I know how that goes." As Daisy backed away, she felt even more amusement as Amy's eyes widened and her cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

Amy's wide eyes narrowed dramatically at Daisy, mockingly upset, she closed the door with a firm click. Daisy stood in place, looking down at the ground where her foot was kicking the loose dirt around. She looked up at another click, Amy stepped down from the RV.

"Whoa…Amy, speed pee-r." Daisy admired with incredulity. Amy rolled her eyes fondly and shook her head.

"We're outta toilet paper, again!" She lamented. Daisy groaned quietly to herself, then huffed in annoyance; not that the lack of toilet paper was able to be blamed on anybody, as the classic novel permits, _Everybody Poops_.

Unexpectedly, Daisy could still hear a groaning sound, even though her own had ceased. She looked up and immediately spotted the source: walker, directly to the right of Amy.

"Amy!" Daisy exclaimed as she leapt forward, Amy looked at her startled.

Daisy caught Amy's arm and roughly dragged her back, Amy shouted in annoyed protest. Immediately, Daisy was set upon by the walker. It lunged at her with greying fingers, growling harshly as its hand scraped her shirt, but she was not caught yet.

"Help, you bastards!" Daisy called behind her as she backed away, her heart dropped as she heard the kids begin to scream. Her hands scrambled at her thighs, suddenly realising that she had obviously not brought a weapon to the supposedly safe campfire dinner.

Daisy turned as she was backing away, catching Amy with a flailing arm. She dragged the now panicking woman along with her towards camp, where the others were finally realising the gravity of the situation and were rushing forward to deal with the walker. Along with that walker, Daisy could now hear multiple sources of groaning and growling, her eyes darted around to see at least a dozen walkers ambling towards the convening group. Ahead of her, Daisy could spot Kat sitting where she had left her, frozen in place.

"Kat!" Daisy called for her friend. She rushed past the others and stopped in front of Kat, pulling the reluctant girl up roughly and dragging her with her. Daisy flinched at the loud ringing gunshots that filled the air.

"What are we gonna do? Where are we going?" Kat's panicked voice shouted directly behind her ear. Daisy winced at the loudness but continued, aiming straight for her tent.

Daisy quickly unzipped the flap and fell onto her knees on the sleeping bag, hands scrambling to surface her backpack. She unzipped the bag with shaking fingers and opened it wide.

"Aha!" She cried, lifting her machete from where it was buried snug underneath an embarrassingly lacy bra.

"Aghh!" Daisy's head snapped around at the scream, it sounded so close. Her heart beat louder in her chest, she could hear it in her ears.

Daisy lunged forward, swinging her knife up and then back down, it landed in the back of a walker's skull, causing it to gargle one last time then fall forward, twice dead. She whimpered as she pushed the walker to the side with all of her strength, locking eyes with Kat who was staring back wide-eyed.

Kat grew paler, holding one hand to her neck, blood made a dark, glistening red by the moonlight rushed through her fingers and trickled out of her parted lips. She crumpled, and Daisy caught her with weak arms, holding Kat to her chest. Her shirt stained red as she held Kat to herself, her friend made no sound.

Daisy looked down with eyes blurry from tears, one hand shoved Kat's blonde hair from her face, it was heavy with red. Kat stared up at her with open, dead eyes, cheeks wet with pink tears, her wound glaring at Daisy from Kat's neck.

"Fuckin'." Daisy managed, her wounds grounded into a harsh yell and her fingers tightened around Kat's body. She couldn't help but stop and wonder at the cruelty of whoever did this to her, whoever had taken her family, killed her friend and taken her remaining friends. Daisy thought it was a godsend that she had been given back one of those taken from her, but of course it wasn't.

Daisy shut out the world around her, clutched the cold, dead corpse of her friend to her and sobbed. She buried her face in Kat's hair, as she had earlier that day, and brushed one trembling hand through the tangled strands, dying them that ever-present red. It was obviously too much to ask that one fucking person close to her survived this goddamn hellscape.


	21. Loss

**Chapter Twenty One: Loss**

 _Loss: the fact or process of losing something or someone._

 **Day 62**

Daisy woke with her heart beating sharply in her chest, visions of the previous night's horror lingering from her nightmares. She breathed out, until there was no more air left in her lungs, then stared up with fearful eyes at the roof of her tent. Daisy breathed in, her head flopped to the side in defeat.

Sunlight shone through the opaque door of the tent, dark red slashes of colour made shadows across her face; Kat's blood was dried and filled the air with that familiar metallic scent. Daisy scrunched her nose at the thick smell and got up from where she was lying, shuffling forward on her knees to the door.

The fabric of the tent door rustled as her fingers danced across where the patterns of blood stained the opposite side. Daisy shook her head of her melancholy thoughts and steeled herself, unzipping the tent and stepping out in one smooth motion. Her toes wiggled in her socks at the dirt. She remembered that shoes were probably a good idea, so she leant back in and snatched her bloodied boots, kneeling in the dirt to slide them onto her feet.

"Shit, Girly, lookin' like a _psy_ chopath, there!" Daisy snapped her head to the side, then rolled her eyes when she saw who had spoken; Merle returned her glare with his usual shit-eating grin. He then asked in his drawling voice, "Ain't bit?"

Daisy stood from where she knelt and turned to face him fully, head craning back to look into his eyes. Her lips tugged up into a reluctant smile.

"You worried there, Merle?" Daisy said with slight amusement. Merle scoffed at her and began to walk towards his camp, gesturing for her to follow him.

"Ain't do me good to be in the same camp as one'a them rotters." He dismissed her, Daisy's smile widened as she thought perhaps she had been right in her initial assessment.

"What if I had been bit?" Daisy asked, "Would you've shed a tear?" A chuckle rose up in her throat, but was cut off as Merle shoved her heavily in the shoulder. Daisy shrieked shortly and soon regained her balance, glaring after Merle's retreating back. She hurriedly jogged after him and made her way to his side.

"Shit no, I wouldn't'a 'shed a _tear_.'" Merle shook his head, then sat down bodily onto the stump by his tent. Daryl looked up at the two with eyes squinting against the sun, then dismissed them and went back to adjusting his crossbow. "Jus' lookin' out for me and my own." Daisy sat down beside Daryl on the fallen log and scoffed at Merle.

"Okay." She conceded, disbelieving eyes still narrowed at him.

"You lose anyone?" Daryl suddenly interjected from beside her, glancing at Daisy shortly before returning his attention to the crossbow. Daisy's brow furrowed.

"Uh, yeah. My friend Kat." Daisy took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Th'fuck's Kat?" Merle mumbled, snapping open his pocket knife and edging it under his fingernails to begin nonchalantly cleaning them, much to Daisy's apprehension.

"My friend. She's been at this camp for…weeks, probably." She informed them.

"I ain't heard of anyone named _Kat_ 'round here." Merle sneered derisively, "A few _dogs_ , though." He chuckled to himself, eyes narrowed and looking around the camp.

"S'not up for debate, Merle." Daryl shook his head, then glanced at Daisy, "M'sorry for your loss." He said mechanically, the crease on the bridge of his nose wrinkling as he concentrated on his task at hand.

"Thanks." Daisy said with a pained smile, which turned to a scowl at Merle's scoff. She sighed, not finding the strength to call Merle out on his bullshit, then focused on what was happening in the camp around them.

Their numbers had significantly lessened with the walker attack that had occurred the night previous, and the few who had survived were either inconsolably grieving or moving the dead to be buried. Daisy shivered at the all-encompassing feeling of grief that pervaded the camp, but steeled herself and stood to help.

"Daryl." She called for his attention, upon getting it she nodded emphatically towards where the bodies were being gathered. Daryl nodded and stood beside her, then unceremoniously kicked Merle's shin with his heavy, booted foot. Merle barely managed to suppress a shout as he glared at his brother, wisely keeping quiet at his and Daisy's similarly solemn expressions. "C'mon." Daisy gestured for them to follow her, glancing around at the others in their group.

She became frozen, however, upon seeing Amy's blank gaze staring back at her. Daisy became troubled, telling the Dixon brothers to go on ahead without her, receiving the usual snide comment from Merle and silence from Daryl.

Amy sat with her knees held close to her chest, hair spilling over her tear and blood-stained cheeks as she stared at Daisy. Lori was crouched in front of her, but Amy was apparently not paying attention to whatever it was she was saying. Daisy's heart leapt into her throat at her first sighting of Andrea. Amy's older sister was lying on her back, white shirt stained through with dull, dried blood, face pale and lifeless.

"—got to let us take her." Daisy heard Lori say with a grave tone, she continued softly, "We all cared about her and I promise we'll be as gentle as we can."

Daisy approached the two with trepidation and crouched beside Lori, and saw that Amy nodded her head minutely, and turned her face away from her sister's body, eyes tightly shut in pain.

"Alright, then. Thank you." Lori finished sincerely. She shared an uncertain glance with Daisy, looked at Andrea's body for a second then shuddered and stood, walking away. Daisy inched forward, feeling that she was at a complete loss to comfort this girl who, as far as Daisy knew, had previously been untouched by the cruelty of this new world.

Her attention was briefly caught when she heard two pairs of footsteps approach, and then retreat with Andrea's body carried between them, but soon returned to Amy when she stirred. Amy's eyes connected with Daisy's briefly, pain shone obviously in them, before they shut once more.

"She saved me." Amy said shortly, Daisy blinked stupidly in response. "She was more worried about me than herself, and she died because of it…if I hadn't been there—" Amy cut herself off with a sob suppressed by her hand which slapped against her mouth. Daisy's eyes widened and her heart dropped into her stomach as she realised Amy was burdened by something worse more than her sister dying; believing that said death was her own fault. She surged forward and landed on her backside beside Amy, carefully placing one arm around the shivering girl, pulling her tighter to her side after not being rejected.

"You can't do that, Amy." Daisy said, trying to sound firm but not quite managing to, "It wasn't your fault." She had only known Amy for a very short time, but knew instinctively that she did not hold any nefarious thoughts in her mind. That, Andrea's death was not, and could never have been, Amy's fault in any circumstance.

Amy let loose another sob and curled in on herself more, Daisy rubbed her arm soothingly but looked around in panic, she had never been exceptional at comforting people who were upset. Daisy was worried that she would make it worse, so she looked meaningfully at Lori who was standing warily off to the side. Thankfully, Lori caught her intention and approached them, crouching once more in front of the inconsolable Amy.

"C'mon, Amy. Why don't we go to the RV. Get some rest." Lori said with piercing eyes and shot Amy a hopeful smile once she had looked up. Amy glanced at the wide-eyed Daisy and then back to Lori, then nodded minutely and allowed herself to be pulled up and led into the RV behind them.

Daisy sighed and fell back against the RV, scrubbing a hand through her hair. She cringed when she tugged too harshly on the strands, pulling them in front of her face and wrinkling her nose at the dried blood that matted them together. Her head knocked back with a harsh thud and she turned her eyes skyward, blinking at the harsh sun.

"Daisy." She looked down and saw Rick standing in front of her, looking just as tired as the rest of them and haggard in his dirty, bloody, no longer white undershirt. "How are you?" She shot him an unimpressed look, making his expression turn apologetic.

"I'm fine. My friend Kat isn't, Andrea isn't." Daisy sighed, bringing her arms tight around herself and rubbing them in a futile effort to comfort herself. She shot him a small smile and patted the dirt beside her, he accepted and sat, his shoulders dropping as he leaned against the RV heavily. Daisy looked at Rick with serious eyes and reassured him, "I'm fine, Rick. You?"

"Lori and Carl are safe."

"That's great." Daisy said genuinely, trying to maintain a positive tone.

They sat in silence for a short time, Daisy stared across the camp at the large fire where the invading walkers were being burned. The heavy, acrid scent of death made her nose wrinkle, she shivered with unease.

"I was so excited to come here." She said suddenly, looking at Rick with a furrowed brow, "Finally, a safe place!" Daisy's lips tugged up in a smile, but her eyes remained hard. Beside her, Rick remained silent. When she caught his gaze, she saw that his eyes were as cold as hers, as hopeless.

"Mmm." Rick mumbled in agreement, chest rising and falling with a shaking breath. Daisy exhaled, staring at him with sadness, suddenly realising that she certainly wasn't helping anybody.

"We're still here." She said firmly, sitting forward and putting a comforting hand on Rick's shoulder. "C'mon, man. Gotta be strong for your son, for Lori." Daisy bit her lip, and stood up with new resolve. "No use sitting around sulking." She said resolutely and held out her hand, Rick scoffed lightly and smiled up at her.

"Says the original sulker." He took her hand and she tried in vain to pull him up, causing him to chuckle as he dropped it and stood himself. Daisy huffed a laugh to herself, shaking her head in disappointment at her comparative lack of strength.

"Off to work." Daisy said quietly, smiling goodbye at Rick and walking towards the fire.

"Hey, whoa! What are you guys doing? This is for geeks!" Daisy glanced over to see Glenn talking to Daryl and Morales who were dragging a body towards the fire. "Our people go over there!"

"What's the difference? They're all infected."

"Our people go…in that row over there." Glenn said shakily, "We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand? Our people go in that row over there."

Daisy stood still as Daryl and Morales conceded, dragging the man to where Glenn had directed them. She walked towards Glenn who was shaking his head and looking at the ground, breathing deeply.

"Glenn? Are you—"

"No." He interrupted her, glancing up with a disturbed frown overtaking his features, "I'm not okay." Glenn gulped and shook his head firmly, then walked past Daisy.

She nodded her head to herself, then steeled. Daisy looked around for anyone who needed her help, but her thoughts were interrupted by Jacqui's exclamation.

"A walker got him! A walker bit Jim!"

Daisy turned to see Jacqui backing away from Jim, and moved towards him with concern, along with the others in the group.

"Show it to us." Daryl demanded, his hand which held a pickaxe dropped and tightened around his weapon. Jim began to look panicked, he picked a shovel off the ground and held it in front of him, ready to defend himself. "Grab him!"

T-Dog grabbed the protesting Jim, holding his arms back and forcing him to drop the shovel.

"I'm okay. I'm okay."

Daryl surged forward and lifted Jim's shirt, showing the enflamed, reddened bite.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim said weakly over and over, T-Dog and Daryl backed off, leaving him staggering in place. Daisy and the rest of the group stood apart from him, each staring with expressions of disbelief at the sight of a dead man walking.


	22. Burn

**Chapter Twenty Two: Burn**

 _Burn: be or cause to be damaged, injured, or spoiled by heat or fire._

 **Day 62**

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl said with narrowed eyes as the group stood gathered in a circle.

"That what you'd want?" Shane asked tersely, "'f'it were you?"

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it." Daryl shot back.

"I hate to say it, I never thought I would, but maybe Daryl's right." Dale, the group's voice of reason, admitted.

"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog." Rick combatted.

"I'm not suggesting that—"

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"The line's pretty clear." Daryl interjected, "Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be."

"What if we can get him help? I heard the CDC was working on a cure." Rick argued.

"I heard that too." Shane said flatly, "Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell."

Daisy sighed to herself, scratching her arm awkwardly as the group fought over Jim's fate, none of it was sitting right with her. Rick was arguing for the CDC, Shane was arguing for Fort Benning. Daisy was almost entirely sure that neither would be up and running, and if they were, they wouldn't exactly want to help their shamble of a group. She tuned back in, brow furrowing above blankly staring eyes.

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that." Rick said determinedly, Daisy agreed with him, having seen the carnage left at the hospital where she had found him. "The CDC's our best choice and Jim's only chance." There was a lull as they all considered Rick's point. Daisy narrowed her eyes at Daryl who had been glancing back at Jim where he sat behind him.

"You go lookin' for aspirin, do what you need to do." Daryl said abruptly, promptly turning and tightening his hands around his pickaxe, swiftly moving towards the despondent Jim with his weapon raised. "Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem."

"Hey, hey!" Rick shouted as he moved forward hurriedly, gun raised and cocked in a matter of seconds, pointed at the back of Daryl's head. Daryl froze in place, pickaxe remaining raised in the air threateningly. "We don't kill the living."

Shane moved to stand protectively in front of Jim, shotgun ready in hand. Daisy remained back, staring wide-eyed at how quickly their group dynamic had turned to shit, as it often seemed to do. Daryl turned his head so that Rick's pistol was pointed directly between his eyes, he lowered his pickaxe.

"That's funny, comin' from a man who just put a gun to my head." Daryl said angrily.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's happenin' here?" A rasping voice suddenly interjected from behind Daisy, she turned to see Merle glaring at Rick who still pointed a gun at his brother's head.

"Put it down." Shane said to Daryl, disregarding Merle. Daryl huffed and shoved the pickaxe into the dirt, stalking towards Merle.

"Th'fuck's that about?" Merle asked incredulously, Daryl just scoffed and stalked past him, moving towards his camp. "You know, Curly?" He glared down at Daisy, whose head jerked back in indignation at the accusation in his eyes.

"Your brother tried to kill a man." She said succinctly, eyes widening to emphasise the seriousness of what had happened. Merle gave a wheezing laugh and slapped Daisy on the shoulder, causing her to stumble back a few steps.

"Daryl ain't likely to kill any man." Merle shook his head in amusement, "What'd he do?"

"He tried to kill Jim…who was bitten by a walker." Daisy admitted, Merle's eyes narrowed once more and he glared over at where Rick and Shane were leading Jim away.

"Well, shit. I'll go get my knife and kill th'fucker right now." Daisy slapped Merle's shoulder with comparative lightness.

"No!" Daisy protested strongly, shaking her head. "You _may not_ kill any living person, Merle." She said incredulously, continuing in a mutter to herself, "Jesus, you people are insane."

Daisy left Merle protesting behind her as she went back to her tent, the one she shared with Andrea and Amy. Her heart stuttered in her chest when she remembered that one of her tent-mates was lying amongst the rest of their dead, but she carried on with a sigh.

The tent flap opened with a flourish and Daisy promptly collapsed onto her sleeping bag, one arm flinging out to drag her backpack to her chest. She cuddled the hard-lumped pack closely and gripped her fingers into the fabric tight, eyes fluttering shut and the creases on her forehead smoothed over. Daisy laid in this way for what felt like an hour, but was more likely a few minutes, in some desperate search of reprieve from what life had become.

"Daisy." She heard a soft voice call from the entrance of the tent, Daisy opened one eye to see Amy standing there, eyes reddened and hair a mess from crying.

"Amy!" Daisy sat up and waved Amy in, Lori stood worriedly beside her.

"You gonna be okay, darlin'?" Lori asked as Amy settled herself into her sleeping bag, and set small package made from red tissue paper on her pillow beside her head. Amy nodded shortly and Lori left after a long, concerned glance. After a few silent minutes of Daisy staring at Amy, taking in her tense shoulders, pinched facial expression and nervous fingers which fluttered over the package, she went to say something:

"Am—"

"Can I…be alone, please?" Amy said abruptly, finishing with hopelessly large, tear-filled eyes staring up at her. Daisy furrowed her brow and nodded her head in understanding, she rummaged around in her pack and unearthed a black cap, plain save for the white Rebel Alliance insignia embroidered on the front. She held her hand over her forehead and felt the heat, sunburn was no joke. Daisy didn't want to be the first to die of skin cancer after the apocalypse, especially with worse threats than the sun ambling around: namely, walkers.

Daisy shuffled over to the front of the tent and stepped out, pausing once only to ensure that Amy would be fine. At Amy's affirmative, Daisy zipped the tent shut and slapped her cap on her head, smushing her curls down.

She glanced around the camp and her eyes fell on Daryl, who was standing beside a beat-up truck, the bed was filled with sheet-covered bodies. Daisy walked towards him, eyes narrowed on the pile of bodies, one hand tugging at a loose curl with nervous fingers.

"That's terrifying." She said to Daryl bluntly, nodding her head at the pile. He narrowed his eyes at her and nodded minutely, crossing his arms. Daisy furrowed her brow at him, "You still mad?"

"Psh, shoulda let me kill him…gonna be a lot more bodies'n this real soon." Daryl spat on the ground by the truck's back tire, Daisy wrinkled her nose up at this but said nothing.

"No killing people without their consent." She said firmly, frankly amazed that this was a point that needed to be outright stated.

"Hmm." Daryl nodded, Daisy was concerned to see a thoughtful glint in his eyes.

"And no coercing consent!" Daisy said incredulously, Daryl scoffed and his lips tugged up into a reluctant smile. She shook her head in both dismay and amusement, before deciding to change the subject, "So…where're they goin'?"

"Up on the hill…to be buried." Daryl sneered in disapproval, shaking his head.

"Huh." Daisy huffed in confusion, "That seems a little unwise, to bury people who may be infected…could infect the environment. Why not burn them?"

"Exactly." Daryl widened his eyes at her, before digging one hand into his pocket and finding a cigarette, sticking it between his teeth, "Ain't like people have never been _cremated_ before." Daisy hummed in agreement, swiftly snatching the cigarette out of his mouth with nimble fingers, scoffing at his protest.

"There are kids around here! Not to mention, _me_. Second-hand smoke kills, Dixon." Daisy laughed at his angry expression, one hand had been holding his lighter aloft to light the cigarette.

"You're an asshole." He muttered, then flicked his lighter closed. Behind him, T-Dog and Morales lifted another body into the bed of the truck.

"That's all of 'em." T-Dog closed the tailgate of the truck, "Wanna take 'em up?" Daryl held his hand out for the keys and T-Dog threw them.

Daryl opened the creaking door of the pickup and sat in the driver's seat, shoving the keys into the ignition.

"Comin'?" He snapped at Daisy, who perked up and bounded over to the passenger's side. She slid onto the seat next to him and winced at the heat of the old leather, then promptly buckled her seat belt. Beside her, Daryl scoffed at this causing Daisy to glare at him.

"Safety is sexy." Daisy maintained, causing Daryl to chuckle mockingly, "Hey, we'll see who's laughing when you go through the windshield and I stay safely in my seat." She said haughtily, snapping the seatbelt against her chest.

Daryl proceeded to drive steadily out of the camp and towards the hill where the graves were being dug, giving her an amused side-eye. She rolled her eyes, conceding that perhaps driving at such a slow speed did not require wearing a seat belt, but she certainly wasn't going to be taking any chances.

On the way there, after much coaxing, Daisy had managed to get Daryl to elaborate on a story Merle had told her about the day before, which she upheld was complete and utter bullshit.

"I just don't think a chicken would cooperate!" She argued, waving one hand emphatically.

"Pshh, doesn't matter what you think…either way, it happened." Daryl shook his head, focusing his attention on the rear-view mirror as he backed up the slight incline of the hill. Daisy scoffed and narrowed her eyes, she decided to leave it at that.

The brakes squealed as they came to a stop and Daryl shut off the engine, him and Daisy exited the truck.

"Still think it's a mistake, not burning these bodies." Daryl called over to Rick and Shane, who were digging the last few graves. "It's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all, wasn't that the idea?"

Daisy shut the door and backed away from the truck, managing to bump into Glenn. The rest of the group were following them up the hill.

"Shit, sorry." She muttered quietly, cringing when she noticed Sophia right behind them. Daisy rolled her eyes at herself and hoped that she hadn't heard, though the tiny smirk on Sophia's face promised otherwise. "Don't tell your Mom I said that." Daisy whispered down to Sophia, who looked towards the person at her side, her mom who had heard what Daisy said. "I mean…sorry." She smiled wryly at Carol, who returned it with a soft smile.

Daisy followed the two with her nose wrinkled in quiet amusement, she came to a stop with the rest.

"There are no rules here." She heard Rick say to a scowling Daryl.

"Well, that's a problem." Lori said, emotion clouding her voice. "We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn, and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do."

A silence overtook the group, Rick and Shane continued to dig the graves. Daisy sidled up to Daryl who continued to revel in his stoicism.

"Why bring so many children to a future mass grave site?" She wondered aloud, narrowing her eyes at the gathering. She counted at least five. Beside her, Daryl choked a surprised laugh, catching her eyes and nodding thoughtfully. "Need any help?" She said louder, to Rick. He stopped digging and stood still for a moment, wiping the sweat off his brow with a sigh. Rick looked pointedly at her, and she nodded in reluctant understanding.

"Yeah…noodle arms." Daisy muttered quietly to herself, glaring at the aforementioned arms, which wouldn't be the most proficient at digging graves. She tilted her hat back and tugged at a curl thoughtfully.

"Star Wars? Nice." Daisy glanced over at Shane who nodded towards her hat. Her fingers tapped against the Rebel Alliance symbol and she smiled at him in wonder.

"Yes! Thank you…for noticing." She said with incredulity, he gave her a quick smile and got back to work. Daisy huffed a surprised laugh to herself, not entirely expecting such an apparent tool to be a nerd capable of understand decidedly low-key references.


	23. Migration

**Chapter Twenty Three: Migration**

 _Migration: movement of people to a new area or country in order to find work or better living conditions._

 **Day 62**

Daisy sighed as she fell back to sit on the dirt beside Daryl's legs, leaning back against the log he was sitting on and bringing her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs tightly and crossed her feet, resting her cheek on her knee.

"Y'okay?" A reluctant voice asked her from above, Daisy hid her smile into her knee.

"Yeah, 'm fine." She mumbled up to Daryl, not entirely feeling it. They had just been to the makeshift funeral. What had really gotten Daisy was the way that Amy cried silently as she helped Dale lower her sister's sheet-covered dead body into a too shallow grave. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like to do the same for her own sister, or her brother. Daisy didn't want to imagine it.

"Don't look like it." Daryl muttered with a scoff. Daisy turned to him and gave him a wide, obviously fake smile, her nose crinkled with the effort, making him smirk. Her smile softened into a genuine one as she turned back to face forward.

She sighed once more, listlessly tapping one finger against the dirt. Daisy's attention was suddenly caught by the sight of an upset Carl walking by himself in the direction of the tents, his parents had stopped to talk closely together further behind him.

"Carl!" Daisy called softly, getting his attention immediately, even with her having to yell quietly so as to not attract walkers. She waved him over and he swiftly shuffled towards her.

"Mmm?" He asked in a hum, eyes wide in an obvious effort to not cry. Daisy patted the ground beside her and smiled comfortingly at Carl. He sat beside her heavily and mirrored her position, hugging his knees tightly to his chest.

"You okay?" She asked, trying her best despite not being the best at comforting lost souls.

"Yeah." Carl said, a shuddering breath escaping.

"Yeah." Daisy said with understanding, throwing one arm around the kid's shoulder and squeezing him to her side. He rested his head on her shoulder and relaxed into her side. Daisy glanced up at Daryl to see him focused on closely inspecting the bolts from his crossbow. "What are you doing, there?" She asked suddenly, when Daryl looked down at her with his customarily narrowed eyes, she looked at him with intent, brow raised. Daryl sighed and rolled his eyes before answering.

"Exactly what it looks like, _Daisy_." He muttered, shaking his head. Daisy laughed and looked forward again, he obviously wasn't in the mood to entertain her and Carl. She thought to herself for a moment, before deciding to make her own entertainment.

"You bored, Carl?" She asked him, he looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding with a hopeful smile. Daisy nodded resolutely and stood with an exaggerated groan, stretching her legs out and swiping the dirt off her backside. "I got some Uno cards in my backpack, wanna play Uno with your friends?" She suggested, Carl looked doubtful.

"Uno?" He repeated, mouth twisting into a decidedly judgemental smile.

"Hey! I'll have you know, Uno is the best!" Daisy looked expectantly at him, Carl gave a reluctant nod and she pumped one hand out in celebration. "Let's go!" She said, trying to convey her excitement with her tone, making Carl giggle at her.

She pulled him along towards where her backpack was in the tent, before she stuttered to a halt. "You go get Sophia and the rest of the munchkins." Daisy ordered, waving him off. They ran off in different directions, Daisy quickly entered her tent and rifled through her bag. She soon surfaced the pack of Uno cards, along with a bag of Warheads she had been hoarding for a time when morale was low.

Daisy exited her tent and found a gaggle of children right outside it, each looking as glum as Carl. She ushered them towards a low-traffic area of the camp and sat them in a circle.

"Anyone know how to play?" Daisy asked, holding up the packet of cards.

"I do." Sophia's soft voice called, Daisy promptly handed her the cards and, once they were all discussing the game with their heads together, she slinked off back to sit next to Daryl on the log.

Daisy shot a quick smile at Daryl, who barely glanced up from his bolts, and sat quietly, keeping one vigilant eye on the kids playing their game of Uno. She was amused to see Carl leading the others in his forced enthusiasm about the game, which gradually turned to real enthusiasm.

"Hey, Daisy?" She snapped her head to the side, and saw Shane standing behind her with an expectant look on his face.

"Uh, yeah, Shane? What's up?" Daisy asked with confusion.

"Can I talk to you?" His eyes narrowed against the glaring sun as he glanced sideways at Daryl, "In private?" He clarified. Daisy's confusion increased, but she nodded and stood from her seat. She followed Shane, stopping with him as they reached the tents.

"You know Rick?" He said suddenly, Daisy huffed a small laugh at the abruptness.

"Uh, yeah?" Daisy said lightly, "I do." She said with more certainty, brow furrowing in a silent request for elaboration.

"What do you think? 'Bout all this CDC business?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Daisy's gaze dropped to the ground and she shuffled her feet, feeling an impending sense of trepidation.

"Look, I don't wanna get in between—" She tried to protest.

"It's not—" Shane interrupted her, cutting himself off with a wry smile, "You're not...it's fine, just wanna know your opinion." He looked meaningfully at her, catching her eyes. Daisy hummed in understanding, but the feeling didn't dissipate.

"Well...I, don't see any other option. Might as well try the CDC, for Jim." Daisy told him honestly, he immediately nodded his head, mouth set in a firm line. "Sorry?" She tried to apologise, wincing.

"It's fine." Shane dismissed her with a huff, "It's all fine." He seemed to mutter to himself, leaving her standing there alone and feeling confused. Daisy remained still for a moment, entirely uncertain as to what had just happened, then she just shook her head to dismiss all the drama that seemed to be happening around her.

Later, after a day of lazing around and not much progression, Daisy was to be found curled up on a folding chair in front of a fire which burned low, the remainder of the group collected around the fire with her. She glanced cautiously at Amy who was similarly curled up on a camp chair, a soft blue blanket cuddled to her chest as she rested her head. Daisy's eyes drifted to look across the fire, there were no smiles to be found—each face as maudlin as the last, even those of the children. Her eyes dropped to stare at the fire, then her stare drifted to the dirt listlessly. The silence was pervaded by the sound of three sets of feet approaching the camp, each of the heads looked up to see Dale, Shane and Rick approach.

"I've, uh, I've been thinkin' about Rick's plan." Shane started, "Now look," He stopped, one foot resting on the chair beside Daisy's as he ducked his head to address the group. "There are no, uh, no guarantees...either way, I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts." Daisy thought to herself that it didn't seem that way earlier, when he was asking her for her opinion. _In fact, he seemed downright doubtful of Rick_ , she thought mockingly, before remembering that she had made an effort to not include herself in the drama.

"I say the most important thing here is we _need_ to stay together." Shane continued, "So, those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning, okay?"

Shane finished, nodding once then taking his leave. Daisy looked around and saw that the group wasn't any happier than before, though they did look thoughtful. She scrubbed a hand through her hair and stood from her seat, and turned to see Merle standing off the side looking hostile as always, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

Daisy approached him, "You leaving with them?" She asked warily. He glanced down at her for a second, then his eyes wandered back to the campfire.

"Mmm." He hummed shortly, looking pensive, though his hardened eyes undercut said pensiveness. "You?" Merle countered. Daisy stared at him for a moment, eyes narrowed.

"Yes." Daisy said simply, "I think that there's strength in numbers. Are you going too?" She repeated. Merle glanced at her again, taking in her expectant look.

"Yeah, I reckon me'n Daryl'll stick around a bit longer." Merle relented, Daisy smiled up at him and nodded her head once, she had thought, even hoped, that would be the answer. For better or worse, Daisy had becomes fond of the Dixon brothers.

"That's good." She reassured him, and he stalked off without another word. Daisy stared after him in amusement, he obviously wasn't fond of showing perceived weakness.

"Alright over here?" Rick's drawling voice suddenly asked. Daisy startled and looked toward him, he was standing beside her with a concerned furrow to his brow.

"Hmm?"

"Everything good with Merle?" Rick clarified, "He didn't look too happy." Daisy stared at him with confusion.

"What? No, Merle's fine." Daisy smiled at her friend. "He and Daryl are on board for the CDC plan." She informed him happily.

"Huh." Rick's brow furrowed further, "I wouldn't'a guessed." He turned and glanced at Merle's retreating form, Daisy chuckled.

"Yeah, he's a surly bastard, alright." She admitted, "He's cool, though." Rick nodded distractedly, one hand fidgeting the walkie talkie on his belt.

"I'm gonna...uh...try to contact Morgan, tell 'em where we're goin'." He said, Daisy's eyes brightened in remembrance of their friends.

"Hey, tell Morgan to tell Duane that my candy supply is dwindling...and that they better catch up real soon, or he'll miss out." Daisy told him seriously, eyes widened with expectation. Rick chuckled and nodded lightly.

"I'll do that." He promised, backing away and heading towards the hill. Daisy supposed there was better reception, but Daisy also knew absolutely nothing about radios. She looked around at the camp and saw that everyone seemed occupied with each other; she might as well join her fellow outcasts in solitary.

Daisy trekked off in the direction that Merle had gone, and promptly arrived at Camp Dixon. She nodded in hello to Daryl and sat on the vacant tree stump.

"Shit, girl, you're like a bad smell." Merle muttered upon looking up.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure you're the one who gave me a bad reputation Merle...I saved your sorry ass, and this is the thanks I get?" Daisy joked, causing Merle to scoff and return to focusing on sharpening his knife. Daisy liked to think that he felt guilty, but it was more likely that he just enjoyed the company of his knife over hers.

 **Day 63**

Daisy threw her backpack into the bed of Merle's truck, squinting her eyes against the sun and pulling her Rebel Alliance hat further down to cover them. She began to walk back towards her tent when a solid projectile punted her right in the shoulder.

"What the fuck." She yelled quietly to herself, mindful of the children within hearing distance. Daisy looked down to see her backpack lying innocently on the dirt beside her feet. She picked it up by one strap with a frustrated groan, one hand massaging her assaulted shoulder.

There was a distinct chuckle that sounded from the bed of the truck, she shuffled towards it and narrowed her eyes at the source. Merle was laid up in the back of his truck, shit-eating grin directed towards her angry face.

"What the actual fuck, Merle?" Daisy asked with false calmness, setting her backpack where it belonged, right next to him.

"No room." He said shortly in between his chuckles, reaching to take her backpack once again.

" _Yes_ ," Daisy ground out, "there is room, you waste of space."

"Hey, there is no need for that kind of language!" Merle said mockingly, scooting forward and dropping his feet onto the ground.

"I'm in your truck, deal with it." Daisy said shortly, backing away from the truck again. Merle made a move to get her backpack but stopped in his tracks once he saw her warning glare.

"Psh." Merle scoffed, moving around to the cab of the truck, "You are _no_ fun at all."


	24. Carnage

**Chapter Twenty Four: Carnage**

 _Carnage: the killing of a large number of people._

 **Day 63**

Daisy sighed, one lone curl puffed away from her forehead with her exhale. She glared off to the side as she felt a sharp elbow dig into her side once more. Merle, the absolute child, was, unsurprisingly, a horror to have in the car while travelling. Daisy was stuck between the Dixon brothers, seated precariously in the middle of the front cab of their old, rusted truck, her arms crossed tightly across her chest to preserve some of the extra space between them.

"You are insufferable." She muttered to Merle, there was an immediate warning sound from Daryl, who was the designated driver and already tired of Merle and Daisy's antics. "Well, he is." Daisy mumbled quieter, sharing a glare with Merle.

"Speak for yourself." Merle sneered, rolling down the window and popping open the glove box, rummaging around for some cigarettes.

"I do not care if I have to turn this car around, you two idiots." Daryl grumbled, "It don't matter a goddamn bit to me if we have to leave this group around." He shot them both a warning glare. Daisy sighed and kicked one foot against the floor of the truck, nodding to Daryl reluctantly.

A second later her attention was caught by Merle who had found the pack of cigarettes and placed one between his lips. He was rummaging around in his pocket for a lighter when Daisy grumbled and quickly snatched it out of his mouth as she had earlier with Daryl, promptly flicking it out of the open window. She watched it soar backwards with a satisfied smile.

"What the hell, Girlie." Merle moaned, smacking a hand against the car door with a frustrated groan.

"You are not smoking in the goddamn car, Merle, you _savage_." Daisy said with indignation, then she twisted in her seat and faced Daryl, "Tell him!" Daryl groaned and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel with annoyance.

"Merle, you can't smoke in the car. Daisy, don't throw Merle's smokes out the window." He grumbled, Daisy embarrassedly retreated her hand from where it had been about to snatch the pack of cigarettes.

"Y'ain't my _father_ , boy!" Merle chuckled hoarsely, but didn't reach down to pull another cigarette from the pack.

Daisy twisted her mouth, trying to discourage her smile from overtaking her face. _What assholes_ , she thought fondly. Daisy stared out of the front windshield and looked at the procession of cars ahead of them; the rest of the group had piled into the other cars, and they were now driving into Atlanta towards the CDC.

Just as the silence had finally settled over the three, the station wagon in front of them slowed to a stop, as did the other cars in the procession, Daisy noted. Ahead of her, she could see that the others were all piling out of their respective cars and onto the road. With a nudge of her elbow, she urged Merle to open the door, he did so with a warning flash of his eyes.

"No need for violence." He muttered to himself as he stepped out of the truck, Daisy followed him with an amused snort. Daisy stepped away from the car and lifted her arms in a stretch, then twisted her torso with a yawn.

"We there?" She called softly up to Glenn who was leaning against the car in front of theirs. He glanced back at her and shook his head.

"Pit stop." Glenn said simply, nodding his head over to the lone gas station across the road. Daisy nodded in understanding and relaxed her arms by her side, pulling her shirt down so that it laid flat again.

"Y'want anything, Curly? Darylina?" Merle called back from where he had walked a few feet toward the gas station. Daisy became thoughtful and shrugged her shoulders.

"Surprise me?" She smiled at Merle hopefully, he chuckled with a worrying amount of ill-intent clouding said chuckle, then looked towards Daryl, who had stopped beside Daisy.

"Darylina? Want anything?" Merle repeated, Daryl just shook his head, waving Merle on. As Merle's back retreated, Daisy turned to Daryl.

"Hey, so...why does he call you Darylina?" She asked, thinking there might be some reason beyond the obvious.

"Psh, cause he's an asshole." Daryl stared at her obviously, Daisy nodded in agreement, _it was the obvious, then_. The two stood in silence for a moment, before Daisy decided to disrupt it with a snack break. She leant into the open window of the truck and pulled two Slim Jims from where she saw Merle stash them on the inside of the door.

"Here." Daisy passed Daryl one and ripped open her own with a pull of her teeth.

"Whoa, whoa!" Glenn called as he approached them, eyes narrowed suspiciously at them. "Where's mine?" His eyes widened pleadingly, making Daisy laugh.

"Here." She proffered her twice-bitten treat, which he promptly snatched and jogged away out of the reach of her flailing hand. "Goddamn." Daisy cursed to herself as she watched Glenn share his bounty with the gaggle of giggling children who promptly surrounded him.

Daryl wordlessly offered his to her, and she reached for it with a thankful smile, but it too was snatched from their grip. This time, by a gleeful Carl, who had seen his chance and taken it.

"What a-holes." Daisy moaned to Daryl as he glared angrily at Glenn and the kids, who were now ecstatic over their two stolen Slim Jims.

"Don't even like Slim Jims." Daryl grumbled, making Daisy laugh at his obvious lie. She moved around the side of the truck and lowered the tailgate and pulled herself up to sit cross-legged. Daisy patted the bed of the truck beside her and Daryl leant against it, kicking one booted foot against the road.

"Oh, yes!" Daisy exclaimed as she caught sight of Merle, who was returning with his hands full with food from the gas station. She squeaked as he punted a packet of crisps directly at her head, but her smile remained wide. "Thanks, _butthole_." Daisy mumbled the insult under her breath, gaining an eye roll from Merle and an amused scoff from Daryl.

"Wheels up." Daisy heard a voice shout, the gathered group began slowly piling back into their respective cars. She dropped down from the tailgate with a groan, ripping open her packet of crisps in one motion.

"In the truck, children." Daryl called over to them as he cracked open the door.

"Yeah, in the truck, child." Merle clicked his fingers by Daisy's ear, making her cringe and slap the hand away.

"He meant you too, _Merle_." Daisy muttered softly, slinking off to slide into the truck, Merle getting in after her.

Sometime after their untimely pit stop, the procession of cars slowed once more. Daisy leant forward and looked around Merle and out the window at the CDC. They all piled out once more, Daisy passed Merle and went to the back of the truck, standing on her tiptoes to bring her backpack closer to her. She rummaged around inside, until she spotted her knife and took it from the pack. Daisy zipped her bag up and shoved it aside, then stepped away from the truck and onto the sidewalk.

"Shit, you haven't had that on you this whole time?" Merle's incredulous voice asked from behind her, Daisy turned to look at him with confusion.

"What, no, why?"

"Idiot. Keep it on you _at all times_." Merle gripped the brim of her hat and pulled it down over her face, Daisy recoiled and slapped it back so that it sat on her head correctly.

"Ugh, fine..." Daisy grumbled, walking forward to follow Merle and Daryl as they walked towards the rest of the group. She wrinkled her nose and frowned as she came to a stop, piled on the streets surrounding the CDC was dozens of bodies, blood and guts were strewn everywhere over blockades, the buzzing of countless flies filled the air as they circled around the carnage.

"What a shitshow." She muttered distractedly, furrowing her brow in shock. Daisy heard an annoyed grunt and glanced to the side to see Lori staring at her in reprimand, she smiled apologetically at her and Carl who stared in a similar shocked silence at the sight in front of them. For some reason, she didn't think Carl would be too concerned with her swearing.

Rick circled the group and led them as they inched towards the entrance to the CDC, shotgun raised in caution. Daisy similarly raised her knife, though she couldn't help but feel she was inadequate in her ability to protect herself and the group, especially in the presence of Merle and Daryl, who were wielding their respective weapons with their custom grimaces.

Daisy covered her mouth with her sleeve as they passed the bodies, eyes fluttering at the pungency of the stench. They came upon a collection of roller doors which all looked irrevocably shut, Daisy felt a sense of trepidation creeping up on her as they gathered around. The air grew thick with panic as Rick and Shane unsuccessfully tried to lift open the closest door.

"There's nobody here." T-Dog said with certainty, Daisy exhaled nervously and twisted her grip on the knife in her hands.

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick questioned, tone nearing desperation.

"Walkers!" Daryl suddenly called, the group turned to see a few dead ambling towards them; Carl and Sophia cried out in fright, and Daisy had half a mind to join them. Daryl promptly loosed a bolt and the walker fell. "You led us into a graveyard!" He yelled, pacing in anger.

"He made a call!"

"It was the wrong damn call!"

"Just shut up." Shane stopped Daryl in his tracks with a hit to his chest, "You hear me? Just shut up!" Shane left Daryl and walked away, "Rick, this is a dead end."

"Where are we gonna go?" Carol moaned, Daisy's fingers were turning white as they tightened on her knife, she looked up towards Merle for guidance, but he was standing, silently staring sullenly at Rick who was examining the closed door.

"Do you hear me? No blame."

"She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark."

"Fort Benning, Rick. Still an option."

"That's 125 miles, we don't have the fuel." Glenn argued lightly, eyes narrowed with frustration.

"Forget Fort Benning! We need answers tonight, _now_." Lori stressed, Carl was crying beside her.

"We'll think of something." Rick said desperately, hand raised in an effort to calm the hysteric group.

"Everybody back to the cars." Shane began ushering the others towards the way that they had come, Daisy was pulled backward by a hand, she stared with her wide eyes in panic at Rick who continued to watch the door.

"The camera it moved!" He shouted, waving them back.

"You imagined it." Dale supposed.

"It moved." Rick repeated quietly.

"Rick, it's dead, man." Shane tried to reason with him, he tried to pull him back but Rick broke free of his grip and started towards the door. Daisy flinched with each clash as Rick banged on the door.

"Rick, there's nobody here!" Lori screamed for her husband.

"I know you're in there...We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left," Rick pleaded with the camera, "You're killing us! You're killing us!" He screamed as Shane hauled him bodily away from the door.

Suddenly, there was a deafening screech and the door rose quickly, a bright white light flooded out and blinded each and every one of them. They stood still, as if in shock, then the bright light clicked off with a shutter and they all moved forward in a warily enthusiastic formation.

"Hello?" Their breaths echoed loudly in the large, high-ceilinged entrance, Daisy's boots squelched against the tile floor. The group gathered in the middle of the room, their wide eyes darting around in search of their saviour.

"Hello?" An unknown voice suddenly called, guns cocked and pointed to where the voice had come from. A man stood, pointing a gun at them in turn, "Anybody infected?"


	25. Bliss

**Chapter Twenty Five: Bliss**

 _Bliss: perfect happiness; great joy._

 **Day 63**

Daisy stood sandwiched in between Glenn and Merle; the doctor, Jenner, had allowed them into the CDC on the condition that they submit to a blood test. Now, they were in the elevator going downwards to the main area.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl snidely asked from the corner, referring to the rifle Jenner clutched closely to his chest. Daisy peered around Merle and shot Daryl a look.

"Ah, there were plenty left lying around. I familiarised myself." Jenner didn't take offense, "You look harmless enough. 'Cept you," He looked down at Carl, "I'll have to keep my eye on you." Daisy stared at him with a raised brow, hoping he didn't freak the kid out too much. They descended in silence once more, Daisy was grateful to see the elevator doors open.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked as the group walked down a stark white hall.

"You claustrophobic?"

"A little." Carol admitted.

"Try not to think about it." Jenner added helpfully, "Vi, bring up the lights in the big room." Jenner said loudly to some unknown presence, Daisy glanced around the room but so no one. "Welcome to zone 5."

"Where is everybody?" Rick took the lead, "The other doctors, the staff."

"I'm it." Jenner said shortly, though Daisy hadn't had much hope on their being a cure for all the shit outside, her heart still dropped into her stomach. "It's just me here."

"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?"

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them, 'welcome.'"

"Hello, guests." A cold, robotic voice sounded around the room, "Welcome."

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry." _Well, that's even more depressing_ , Daisy leaned against a railing. "Blood tests?" Jenner looked disparagingly excited, Daisy mentally groaned.

Minutes later she was sitting in the proverbial hot seat, Daisy crinkled her nose as Jenner slid a needle into her arm. She looked away, catching Merle's gaze, he sniggered at her expression. With a sharp warning look directed at Merle, Daisy breathed out a sigh of relief as Jenner finished.

"All done." Jenner tried to smile comfortingly at her, pressing a tiny Band-Aid onto the wound he had inflicted. Daisy wasn't buying it. _Sick bastard_ , she joked to herself in her head, slipping off the chair and letting his next victim take the seat. She meandered over to where Merle was sitting comfortably against the wall, dropping down beside him. Daisy looked at him and saw that he was staring at her in amusement.

"Oh, do you _enjoy_ getting needles?" She asked insolently, rubbing her Band-Aid with a pout. Daisy let loose a yawn, hugging her arms around her chest. "Aren't you s'posed to have OJ after a needle?" Daisy called over to the doctor, he looked up from where he was treating Andrea.

"Ah, no 'OJ,' sorry...I'll see what we have when you're all done." He assured her, Daisy huffed impatiently, suddenly remembering the hunger pains she had struck from her mind. Daisy kept quiet, rested her head against her knee and waited for the group's collective doctor's appointment to finish.

Later, the group had collected around a table, everyone was happy, laughing and drinking wine. Daisy sat quietly at the end, between T-Dog and Merle, having a veritable love affair with the food they had been served.

"This mac and cheese is bomb." She said with wonder, smiling at Merle who had his face buried in a wine glass, "So classy." Daisy nodded towards his wine, he jokingly sneered at her, unable to hold it, with the festivity that pervaded the air causing it to dissolve into a genuine smile. As she was smiling around a delicious forkful, she listened intently as Dale tried to get Carl's fuddy-duddy parents to allow him a drink of wine.

"When Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then." Lori parried Dale's argument with a warning smile.

"What's it gonna hurt?" Rick said lightly, "Come on." The group dissolved into giggles once more as Rick handed Carl a plastic cup filled with a finger of wine. They all waited with bated breath; Carl, predictably, scrunched up his nose at the taste.

"Ew." He exclaimed, Daisy chuckled to herself, silently proud of him.

"That's my boy. That's my boy." Lori praised him.

"Just stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane smiled.

"Not you, Glenn." Daisy smiled disbelievingly at Daryl, who appeared to come out of his shell after being plied with a few bottles of hard alcohol.

"What?" Glenn wondered, looking over at Daryl with a slightly terrified smile.

"Keep drinkin', little man. I wanna see how red your face can get." Daisy dug another forkful of pasta, swallowing with a snort.

"Seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly." Rick toasted to Jenner, raising his glass.

"He is more than just our host." T-Dog added, raising his glass as well. Daisy scrambled for her cup and raised it, then took a small sip of the barely touched drink.

"Hear, hear!"

"Booyah!" Daryl exclaimed, making Daisy snort unexpectedly into her drink, some of the wine dripping down her chin, the others followed with his cry. Daisy shared an amused glance with Merle, who was being unusually quiet in their festivities.

"So, when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" Shane suddenly interjected soberly, Daisy's smile dropped and she sat her cup on the edge of the table. The group quietened. "All the, uh, the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"We're celebrating, Shane." Rick tried to assuage his depressing thoughts, "Don't need to do this now."

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move. S'posed to find all the answers, instead...we, uh, we found him. Found one man. Why?" Shane stared at Jenner.

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left. Went off to be with their families." Jenner told them seriously, "And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane smirked disbelievingly.

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They...opted out." Daisy grimaced, grasping what Jenner had meant, "There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"And you stayed?" Rick interjected.

"I just kept working. Hoping to do some good." Jenner finished optimistically, Daisy picked up her cup again and drank a mouthful, widening her eyes into the cup, uncomfortable.

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man." Glenn sighed at Shane, Daisy smirked bitterly, agreeing with his sentiment.

After a few moments of awkward silence as they sat around the table, appetites forgotten, Merle suddenly spoke up, "Kinda digs you got?" He nodded his head purposefully towards the hall, giving them a much needed out. Jenner faltered and stood up, nodding his head lightly along with him, exclaiming that he would show them to their rooms.

Daisy followed him along with the rest, strewn out in a line like a group of sated, unwashed ducklings. "Most of the facility is powered down including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like." Jenner explained, "There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies if you shower, go easy on the hot water." Daisy had stopped with the rest of the group, staring wide-eyed around Glenn up towards the retreating doctor.

"Hot water?" Glenn turned and smiled hesitantly at the group, then looked towards T-Dog.

"That's what the man said." T-Dog grinned.

"Oh, no." Daisy gasped quietly, "I'm so happy." She smiled up towards Merle, eyes watery with ecstatic tears. He shoved her forwards with the rest of them, a relieved smile even spread across his face.

Not too soon, Daisy stepped under the light spray of a hot shower and almost moaned in ecstasy. She scrubbed her hands through her hair, then almost lunged to grab the provided shampoo. Minutes later, with the limitation to the hot water in mind, Daisy stepped out of the shower feeling better than she had in two months, she wrapped a fluffy robe that she found around her, snuggling into its soft collar.

Daisy smiled widely at Shane as she passed him in the hall to her room, getting an unexpectedly contempt look in return; it seemed not everyone was as pleased as she was at their new accommodations. She shrugged off his bad mood and bounded into her room. Inside, Merle was lounging on a cot, Daryl sitting cheeringly in a corner, bottle of scotch in hand—with the limited amount of space available, Daisy had been stuck with the Dixon brothers, not that she minded too much.

"Good shower?" Daryl smiled sleepily at her, the alcohol having made him more pliant. Daisy laughed in surprise, nodding in the affirmative.

"You should go have one." She suggested, nodding towards the door. Daryl hummed contentedly, then decided to do just that, leaving her alone with Merle.

"He's happy." Daisy smiled over at him, Merle scoffed in response, stretching his arms behind his head.

"Always did turn into a pussy after a drink." He mumbled, not unkindly. Daisy wrinkled her nose but didn't say anything, deeming it not to be ill-intentioned. She bent down and pulled her bag onto the cot, rifling through it for her pyjamas.

"Hey, can you leave for a sec while I change?" Daisy smiled hopefully up at Merle, who just cracked one eye open and shot her a disbelieving look. "Yeah...thought so." She snorted, pulling out her pyjamas and sinking to the floor. After a lot of wiggling around, she managed to change into her clothes without Merle seeing, the bed and her bathrobe acting as cover.

Daisy jumped up, landing on her bed for the night, a particularly hard and uncomfortable couch, and hugging her bag to her chest, shoving her clothes in. She glanced over at Merle, amused to see that he was pouting. "Oh, boohoo! Perv..." Daisy shook her head, he cracked a smile. She drew up the blanket she had managed to find and snuggled her face into it.

"Think we're safe here?" Merle suddenly asked, Daisy peeked her eyes over the blanket and caught his gaze, seeing that he seemed genuinely worried.

She thought for a moment, before deciding, "I think we're safe here tonight." Daisy grimaced, "I don't know about it being a long-term solution, though. Jenner seems a bit...off."

"Hmm." Merle hummed, then sighed in misery, taking a heavy swig of the bottle of alcohol Daisy now saw he had been holding lovingly in his arms.

BANG! Daisy startled and looked up; the door to their room had slammed open, Daryl stood in the doorway swaying slightly. She relaxed once more, throwing a dirty look to Daryl, who didn't seem to notice.

"Shit, tha's a good shower." He smiled cheesily, stumbling into the room and onto his own cot across the room. Daryl groaned, curling his legs up behind him and pulling his blanket up to his neck, "I don' feel too good." The blanket was pulled further up and over his head. Daisy shared an amused look with Merle, she snorted quietly to herself.

"Kid never could hold his liquor...passed out more times 'en I can count," Merle muttered, "Ya think he'd be able to—redneck and all—disappointment o' the family right there." He smirked bitterly, Daisy stared at him with wide eyes. "Prob'ly a good thing." Merle dropped his bottle down onto the floor and turned over, Daisy took his action as him being done with their conversation.

Daisy sat up, slinked over to the doorway and glanced up and down the hall—no one in sight. She closed the door quietly, then flicked off the light, dousing the room in darkness. With two quick hops, she landed heavily onto the couch—having never gotten over that irrational fear that occurred between turning off the light and reaching the bed—wrapping herself in her blanket once more. Seconds later, Daisy drifted off into the calmest rest she had had for two months, feeling safe however many floors underground, no walkers to be seen or heard.


	26. Impending

**Chapter Twenty Six: Impending**

 _Impending: about to happen; imminent_

 **Day 64**

Daisy narrowed her eyes towards Amy who sat quietly to her right, daintily shovelling spoonful after spoonful of powdered eggs into her mouth, she was quietly happy to see her at least eating in the wake of her devastation. She glanced down at her own plate and scooped up a bite, following suit without much embarrassment—days of starvation would do that to a person. Another glance around the table, Merle was gnashing on a rasher of bacon, it crunched harshly in the otherwise quiet room. _This all feels strangely domestic_ , Daisy mused happily to herself as she ate, _I've only ever known these people post-apocalypse, but it feels like I'm right back at home with my family eating breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning_.

"Don't ever, ever, ever let me drink again." Glenn groaned, Daisy smirked at him, grateful that she hadn't drank as much as the rest of the sorry souls around the table.

"Okay there, Darylina?" Merle asked his brother loudly, Daryl raised his head fractionally off the table and shot Merle a dirty glare, Daisy huffed a laugh and returned to her eggs, grateful for the lack of pounding headache.

"Leave 'im alone and eat your bacon, dipshit." She nudged Merle in his side, he chuckled throatily and did so, happy enough to be plied with food. Daisy slurped a mouthful of orange juice, internally narrowing her eyes at Jenner's saying that they had none the day before.

"The hell happened to you? You neck?" Daisy looked up at T-Dog's question, everyone's eyes were fixed to Shane, who Daisy could see had a nasty scratch on his neck.

"Musta done it in my sleep." Shane said dismissively, Daisy narrowed her eyes at the obviously bullshit answer.

"Never seen you do that before." Rick shared her doubts.

"Me neither." Shane conceded, "Not like me at all." Daisy saw him staring at Lori, and widened her eyes. She quickly buried her face in her cup, remaining averse to the drama that ran deep within the group.

"Mornin'." Jenner greeted as he entered the room.

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing—" Dale started.

"But you will anyway."

"The eggs are great, but not exactly the reason we came here." Rick smiled pliantly at the doctor, Daisy hummed in agreement, setting her fork down on her finished plate. _And...lazy Sunday is over_ , Daisy thought to herself, disgruntled—not that she was sure it even was a Sunday, but a gut feeling was as close as one was likely to come in this new world.

"Give me playback of TS-19." Jenner commanded the computer as the group entered what Daisy supposed was the control room, or equivalent. The room darkened and images of bright blue scans filled the wall, one of a person and others of a brain, "Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few."

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked Jenner incredulously as the image flickered on the screen.

"An extraordinary one. Not that it matters in the end." He tapered off, staring at the image in disquiet. "Take us in for E.I.V."

They all stared silently at the brain as the image enhanced and twisted to show the brain, lighter blue lights seemed to flicker within; the picture got closer and closer until it was an unrecognisable map of intertwining ropes and flashes.

"What are those lights?" Shane voiced what they all were thinking.

"It's a person's life. Experiences. Memories. It's everything." Jenner said simply. "Somewhere, in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you...the thing that makes you, unique, and human."

"You don't make sense, ever?" Daryl snarked, arms crossed.

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person say, does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" Rick asked in concern.

"Yes. Or r-rather the playback of the vigil."

"They died?" Glenn nodded towards the screen, "Who were they?"

"Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected, and volunteered to have us...record the process."

Jenner told the computer to show them the 'first event,' all stood looking at the screen in rapture as the picture changed—what was once a brilliant map of electric blue lights was being overtaken by a web of darkness stemming from the neck.

"What is that?"

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands haemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs." The image of the person on screen began to shake, its mouth opening then closing finally, the lights extinguished and the brain was an empty space of black. Daisy's heart clenched at having to watch the literal light of a person's life extinguish before them—it seemed so final. "Then death. Everything you ever were, or ever will be...gone."

Daisy turned as she heard Amy's breath hitch, her hand was cupped over her mouth and her face was screwed up as she tried to hold in her tears. Lori came up behind her to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Daisy looked back at the brain, remembering Jess, remembering Kat, _this is what happened to them_ , her own breath hitched in her throat which suddenly felt like it was closing in.

"Scan to the second event." The screen fast-forwarded once again, "The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was...two hours, one minute, seven seconds." Jenner said stoically.

Daisy's eyes widened as muted red flashes began at the base of the patient's brain which had been so dark before.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked incredulously.

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive?" Rick clarified.

"You tell me."

"It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark."

"Dark. Lifeless. Dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part. That doesn't come back. The _you_ part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct." The patient began moving again in death, mouth snapping. Daisy startled as a bright flash struck through the brain, digging a trench through the image.

"God. What was that?"

"Shot him in the head." Merle smirked, Jenner ignored him. Daisy leant heavily against a nearby desk, tapping her fingers nervously on the surface as Jenner walked away. The lights around them flickered out as Jenner ordered them turned off.

"You don't know what it is." Rick said certainly, voice drained of any hope.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal—"

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui added stonily.

"There's that..."

"Somebody must know something...there are others, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked shakily.

"There may be some," Jenner admitted, though he sounded doubtful, "Everything went down...communications, directives, all of it. I've been dark for almost a month."

"So this...shit, it's everywhere?" Merle asked incredulously, Daisy sighed a panicked breath, she thought that she must have held on to some hope that they could return from all of the destruction.

There was a silence for a few minutes, before Daryl faithfully broke it, "Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk...again."

"Doctor Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but...that clock, it's counting down. What happens at zero?" Dale asked. Daisy swivelled her head to see the bright red counter, the seconds turned into zeros and an hour was left, she hadn't noticed it before.

"The...basement generators, they run out of fuel."

"And then?" Rick asked with incredulity, at Jenner's silence her raised his voice to address the computer, "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?"

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur." The computer's detached, mechanical voice caused a nervous shiver to run up Daisy's spine. Her eyes darted around to look at the similarly afraid faces of the others.

"Decontamination...meaning, we need to be eradicated." Daisy said flatly, raising her eyebrows at Rick, as no one else, especially Jenner who had wandered off, seemed to want to answer questions. Rick just stared back at her, fearful look in his eyes. Daisy dropped her gaze to the floor and stood up straight, pacing forward. "We gotta get out, right?" Her voice was high with panic.

The group dispersed, some investigating the power situation, some huddling up in the living quarters and others, like Daisy, packing up their belongings. No one save Daisy seemed to be absolutely sure that they did not want to be here when that clock ticked down to zero. _I suppose being referred to in terms of a disease that needs eradicating just rubs me the wrong way_ , Daisy thought derisively as she shoved her dirty clothes into her backpack.

"Th'hell are we gonna do?" Daisy flicked her gaze over to Daryl who had spoken, his fingers gripping tightly over the bed frame beneath him.

"I say we pack." Daisy gestured her hands towards the almost fully packed bag by her knees, "I mean...what the fuck? This Jenner guy, he seems totally depressed!" She grimaced at her oversimplification, "Shit, I _don't_ want to die." Daisy huffed with a wry smile. She zipped up her backpack sharply, sitting back on her feet as she breathed harshly, her heart was thumping loudly in her chest.

Daisy froze as the room seemed suddenly so silent; she glanced up to the air conditioner in the ceiling, it was still and quiet with no air hissing through. _No air isn't good when you're underground_ , she grimaced again. Daisy stood and threw her backpack on her shoulders, nodding her head towards the door for Merle and Daryl to join her.

"This is so fucked." Merle murmured, walking out of the room after her with Daryl close behind him.

"Why is the air off? A-and the lights in the room?" Lori's voice sounded in the hall, Daisy stopped in the doorway as Jenner passed by.

"Energy use is being prioritised." Jenner said shortly, not stopping to assuage their panic.

"Air isn't a priority?" Dale asked dubiously, Daisy shared his unease, "And lights?" Jenner took a swig from a bottle of amber-coloured alcohol, _not exactly comforting_. Daisy joined the others as they walked after Jenner.

"S'not up to me. Zone five is shuttin' itself down." Jenner's voice wavered, the lights in the hall mimicked him as they began to shut off and douse the room in darkness.

"What the hell's that s'posed ta mean?" Merle rasped with concern, " _Doctor_ , gonna answer my question?" Merle shoved his hand at the doctor's shoulder as they rounded the corner. Jenner just shrugged off his hand and walked faster.

"Rick?" They came upon a balcony, raced down the stairs to join the others who had gone to check on the power situation. Their expression did not look promising.

"Jenner, what's happening?"

"System is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That starts as we approached the half-hour mark."

The group walked hurriedly into the control room, following the ambivalent doctor like a herd of terrified sheep. Daisy noticed the clock was almost at thirty minutes left. Jenner took another swig, Daisy felt like joining him. She scoffed quietly to herself as he started his depressing monologue, she really didn't think he deserved her attention.

When she tuned back in, the others were scrambling to get their things in time, a blaring siren began to buzz, Daisy threw her hands over her ears.

"Thirty minutes to decontamination." That cold computer voice sounded, Daisy wanted to smash its monitor in spite. Bright red light flashed in her eyes and she held her uneasy stomach in by hugging her arms around her chest.

"I goddamn knew it, psycho doctor." Daisy screwed her face up and tightened her backpack straps. Jenner pressed some buttons and the door to the outside slid up, Daisy stared in disbelief.

"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn asked with fear clouding his voice, "He just locked us in!" Everybody began shouting and Daisy just collapsed into a nearby desk chair, rolling a few feet back into a half-wall. She cringed as Daryl charged at Jenner, T-Dog barely stopping him from smashing a glass bottle over the man's head. Daisy stared blankly at the scuffle, cuddled her backpack to her chest, and glanced at the closed door. _Fuck_.


	27. Salvation

**Chapter Twenty Seven: Salvation**

 _Salvation: preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss._

 **Day 64**

Twenty one minutes after their death sentence, Daisy remained exactly where she had been when the clock turned over to declare them to be nine minutes from death. Daisy's heart beat heavily in her chest as the stark red clock ticked over to nine minutes, she slumped back in her chair and shivered—not because of the coldness that filled the room but because of the dread that was steadily rising in her chest. It felt as though a heavy rock had taken up residence in her stomach.

Her gaze drifted over to where Shane and Daryl were striking against the door to the outside with their respective weapons, they just clinked against the door's hard surface and left nought but a scratch. With another shiver, Daisy came back to herself to hear Jenner questioning Amy about her recently deceased sister—Amy had tears steadily falling along her nose and clinging to the end. Amy swiped a hand over her nose and shook her head, she curled her arms around her legs and leant her head against her knees, covering her free ear with a shaking hand.

"Leave her alone, Doctor Doom." Daisy snapped, clutching at her backpack that sat by her feet with nervous fingers. She took in a deep, calming breath as the group fell into silence.

"Can't make a dent." Shane informed Rick, breathing heavily from the desperate exercise.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner informed them matter-of-factly, Daisy wanted to punch him in his smug face, resultant broken fingers from improper technique be damned.

"Well your head ain't!" Daryl seemed to hear her thoughts and came at Jenner with his axe raised, thankfully the others stopped him before the axe could land true.

"You _want_ this." Jenner said to Rick after they had calmed once more, "You said so last night, you said it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead."

Daisy's eyes widened, "That's cold." She whispered to Merle beside her, sharing a concerned glance with him, her words were disparagingly loud in the silence.

"What, you really said that?" Shane asked, voice hard and unforgiving, "After all your big talk?"

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?"

"There is no hope." Jenner interjected himself into the conversation once more, Daisy was really getting sick of this guy, "There never was."

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere—"

"Everybody is gone!" Jenner chuckled incredulously, eyes hardened, "This is what kills us—our... _extinction_ event!"

"This isn't right!" Carol sobbed, "You can't just keep us here!"

"One tiny moment—a millisecond! No pain..."

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!"

Daisy kicked her foot at the floor and her chair slid back a few feet until she hit a half-wall, "This is complete bullshit," She suddenly interjected loudly, Jenner turned his smug face towards her, "Open the door, you dickwad—haven't you ever heard of _consent_?! You keep that door open, you're killing us! Cold blooded, goddamn murder...I'll tell you what, if any of our group is similarly suicidal, they can choose to die all they want." She stood, "But I sure as shit don't want to die...and...I'm not gonna let you kill that innocent little girl and little boy, or their parents...or the rest of these sorry sacks. We came all this way, now we're gonna die for nothing? Because you said so, some Doctor who survived _two months_ then suddenly decided to quit? We want...a goddamn choice."

Daisy gritted her teeth and stood tall, looking expectantly at Jenner who looked suddenly so tired. He sank down into a chair and sighed through his nose.

"I don't get why you people can't just see—"

"No, open the door. Or," Daisy glanced to the side, seeing the clock tick down to four and a half, "Or I'll let Merle shoot your dick off!" Jenner scoffed and rolled his eyes, "No! You'll be dead in five minutes anyway, sure! But wouldn't you rather spend those last five minutes _intact_?" She widened her eyes threateningly, the desperation creeping into her voice. Merle chuckled behind her, nodding his head in agreement.

Jenner sighed again and glanced between the equally desperate faces of the group, then his gaze landed on the tear-stained, terrified faces of Sophia and Carl. He narrowed his eyes and then rolled them skyward, testily leaning forward to type a quick command into his keyboard.

"Whoa, thank God." Daisy muttered as the door locking them in slid open, she snapped up her backpack and brought it around her shoulders.

"Go...topside's locked down, can't open 'em...you're welcome to try." Jenner called after them.

Daisy did not look back, rushing after the group as they left their presupposed final resting place behind, Jenner remaining there. They all swarmed into the entrance to the building, the doors to the outside all irrevocably closed. T-Dog and Glenn hurried ahead, trying to open the doors, while Shane began trying to smash open the window with his axe. Daisy stood still, unsure of what to do besides stare out of the wide windows at the blue sky outside. She hadn't been sure that she would ever see the sky again, and now she was here. If they couldn't find a way to get the doors open or to break the windows, this would be her final sight. A loud shot filled the air as Shane tried to shoot the windows, she cringed at the noise and then at the lack of a crashing sound as the glass stayed strong. Daisy returned her attention to the sky outside and stared for an age at that endless blue expanse, white clouds hung in the air like they were scattered haphazardly over the ceiling of the world.

A shout brought her out of her melancholy considerations, Merle's hand grabbed her elbow and pulled her sharply away from the windows. Daisy winced at the harsh pain that shot up her arm but allowed herself to be pulled down to the ground behind a set of stairs. She ducked her head into her chest just as a resounding explosion sounded, the smash of glass followed it.

Her ears rang but she shot up happily as she saw the window had been broken, she bounded towards their way out with the group, jumping out onto the grass below and landing in a crouch. Merle's hand grabbed at her arm once more and she ran with him after the others, running towards their procession of cars. She slammed against the side of the truck with the inertia of her run, scrambling to open the door and clamber in, Daryl behind her and Merle entering through the driver's side.

There was a loud thudding in her chest as she tried to calm her breathing, leaning back against the seat in relief at her being alive, slumping down with Merle and Daryl to get away from the window. Not before too long, a deafening roar filled her ears and she gasped as she felt the residual heat wash over her. Daisy and the Dixon brothers poked their head up to see the smouldering wreck that was once the CDC, the flames consumed the area where the building had been and a billowing cloud of grey smoke filled the air.

They sat in silence for a moment, Daisy staring in awe at the fire. Merle twisted the key in the ignition and the truck stuttered to a start, following the other cars that had begun to peel away from the curb. Daisy's head spun as they turned to drive back the way they had come, feeling spectacularly pissed at the fact that they had essentially had their time wasted by Jenner.

 **Day 66**

Daisy was travelling once again between the Dixon brothers—she could confidently say that her nose had lost the ability to detect the rankest of smells due to overexposure, but she would rather think of that as a blessing. The three were in the same run-down, blue truck, luckily they did not have to give it up as the group brought their procession of cars down to a measly three, and they were on their way to Fort Benning. Daisy was...not exactly supportive of this decision, believing that it likely had either succumbed to walkers or was in imminent threat of succumbing to walkers, but she was not the leader of their humble group.

The truck came to a spluttering stop, the RV and station wagon already stopped on the road before them. Daisy looked past Merle at the softly swaying, yellowed grass and weeds that littered the ground by the road.

"What's goin' on?" Daisy mumbled around a tired yawn, an entire day of car travel would do that to a person.

"Looks like a traffic jam up ahead." Merle tapped his fingers against the steering wheel impatiently.

"Traffic jam?" Daisy asked with confusion, "Isn't everyone dead? Who is there left to make a traffic jam?"

Merle shot her a look and rolled his eyes, "People left their cars, 'fore they became walkers."

Daisy hummed and nodded her head, ahead of them the RV and station wagon began to ease forward, they weaved through several abandoned cars before coming to a stop once again. They could see the others piling out of their cars, so Merle, Daryl and Daisy followed suit.

Arms stretching high above her, Daisy did a few lunges to stretch her legs out.

"Ain't no time for _aerobics_ , girly!" Merle chuckled, ruffling her hair as he passed her. Daisy straightened up and tried to smack his hand away, but he was too far ahead. She wrinkled her nose as she tried to arrange her unruly curls into some semblance of neatness.

Daryl passed her, shooting her an awkward look. Daisy looked after him in confusion, _that kid is wild_ , she chuckled to herself as she bounded after him and Merle, joining the makeshift circle the group had formed by the RV. There was a low whistling sound, Daisy peered over Glenn's shoulder to see a small cloud of white smoke rising from the hood of the RV: the apparent reason they had stopped.

"Problem, Dale?"

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of—" Dale cut himself off as he turned to watch Daryl rummaging through the open back of a nearby car, it was a veritable hoard of supplies, "Okay, that was dumb."

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..."

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T-Dog started forward, Daisy crinkled her nose at the memory of her trying and failing to siphon fuel; surprisingly, gas did not taste pleasant.

Daisy shuffled forward next to Daryl and peered into the back of the car, she pulled out a lone VCR tape and tilted her head in confusion—not knowing exactly who would need _The Grinch_ in an apocalyptic scenario, or how they would find a VCR player. Looking further under the junk, she saw the elusive VCR and nodded her head thoughtfully. With a disbelieving smile, she backed away from the strange car and ventured further to find a more bountiful vehicle.

"This is a graveyard," She heard Lori protest behind her, and managed to stop her eye-roll, "I don't know how I feel about this."

Daisy turned her head a fraction, and called back, "If we don't gather some of these supplies, we will most likely become additions to this 'graveyard.'" She chuckled to herself as she eased open the back door of a small blue Prius.

Shuffling into the back seat on her knees, Daisy immediately spotted a neon yellow backpack on the floor behind the back seat, "Score!" She exclaimed as she unzipped it to find it full of packets of ramen, a tiny bottle of Sriracha sauce snuggled on top. Daisy dropped the backpack on the ground by the car and continued to search—she surfaced a battered copy of X-Force volume 3 issue 17, a pair of sturdy, leather work-boots, two Butterfingers candy bars and a David Bowie cassette tape à la Ziggy Stardust.

Her bounty piled in her arms, she dropped out of the car and stuffed it into the yellow backpack, pocketing the cassette tape for the truck, then journeyed on to the next car. Before Daisy could jimmy open the door of the truck she had picked, a hushed shout caught her attention.

She turned her head to see Rick gesturing for them to get down, upon looking further she saw the reason—dozens of walkers were ambling up the highway right toward them. Daisy's eyes widened and she immediately dropped to her knees—wincing slightly at the sound of the knees of her jeans ripping—laid down and then rolled under the truck. She bumped into something, restraining a shout she twisted around to see a wide pair of eyes staring back. Calming immediately, Daisy flung an arm around Sophia and huddled down under the truck.

A low growling moan filled the air and Daisy shushed Sophia as a small whimper escaped her. Looking to the side, Daisy saw the feet of a dozen walkers pass by, she rested her head on the hard ground and mentally groaned, _great, I was getting really worried that things would be safe and calm after this morning's debacle_. Daisy rolled her eyes heavenward and tightened her grip on Sophia's arm.


	28. Entreaty

**Chapter Twenty Eight: Entreaty**

 _Entreaty: an earnest or humble request._

 **Day 66**

As the steady stream of scuffling walkers began to thin, Daisy loosened her tight grip around Sophia, though her hands remained firm on her arm. She looked around and caught the gaze of Rick under a nearby car, and then of Lori and Carol who were huddled together under another. Carol was staring at her daughter, face pale and hand over her mouth to dissuade her from crying out for Sophia. Daisy tried to shoot her a reassuring look, but Carol remained just as panicked, dewy streams of tears falling from her eyes.

There was a tug from Sophia, Daisy looked down and saw her looking up with wide eyes, Daisy gulped and shushed her quietly. Glancing over at Rick, she raised her brow and gestured towards the street to ask if it was safe. His line of sight drifted upwards and to the left, then he shook his head emphatically. Daisy also looked, huffing a silent sigh of relief as she noticed a lone straggler edging along after its walker buddies, her grip tightened around Sophia.

After they were sure that the entirety of the herd had passed, each of the group warily emerged from their hiding places. Sophia quickly slipped from Daisy's grip and collided with her mother, mirroring Carl who was reluctantly hugged to his own mother's chest.

"Alright, there?" Daisy glanced over at Merle who had moseyed up with the others, she shot him a smile and a quick thumbs up, "Wasn't so sure, you bein' a dumbass 'n all." Her smile fell and she rolled her eyes. Daisy bent down and tugged her neon backpack out from under the car and strapped it to her back, pulling them tightly and secure.

"Speak for yourself." She muttered as she passed him, approaching Rick who stared warily after the hoard of walkers that could be seen swarming down the highway far off, "Where to next, bossman?" Daisy smiled wryly at Rick.

"Uh...back, maybe." He scanned the cars that had piled up to block the road.

Daisy hummed, "Maybe we could move a few? Looks pretty clear ahead, past these ones." She gestured towards the nearest cars.

Rick turned thoughtful, "We could definitely do that." He turned as Shane approached, then proceeded to relay her plan. Daisy bowed out and edged along the guardrail towards the open passenger's side door of a shiny black SUV. She leaned in and rifled through a small Barbie backpack, finding a rotten apple, a colouring book, two red crayons and a packet of Hot Cheetos. Daisy pocketed the crayons and Cheetos, then knelt on the seat to lean further into the front.

"Ooh." She drew out the exclamation as she noticed an unopened bottle of— _undoubtedly very expensive_ , she noted as she recognised the label—whiskey sitting innocently in the centre cup holder, Daisy threw that into the pocket of her backpack for either Merle or Daryl and edged out.

"Anything for me?" Merle's voice asked behind her, she startled and hit her head on the roof of the car.

"Shitting...what, Merle?" Daisy shot a glare behind her—which intensified when she saw that he was staring at her ass as she shuffled out onto the road, "Not anymore, perv. The bottle of Pappy Van Winkle I may or may not have in this rad backpack now belongs to your brother."

Merle narrowed his eyes suspiciously, trying to decipher whether she was bluffing, "Better be lyin', nasty mother..." He trailed off as he caught her warning glare, then huffed and walked away. Daisy shook her head free of Merle's nonsense and made her way to the next car. As she was rifling around in the glovebox—scoring a box of 9mm bullets and a roll of Hubba Bubba tape—Glenn's voice called in after her.

"Hey, uh, can you put it in neutral? And help me push it."

Daisy quickly shoved her newest discoveries into the backpack, then clicked the gearshift in place and released the parking brake. As the car began to slowly roll forward at the slight incline of the street, Daisy hurriedly landed on the road and rounded the car to push next to Glenn and Shane.

The car gained speed and they soon released in as it crashed into the guardrail, a sizeable space left behind for their cars to travel through. Daisy noted that a few other cars had been moved, and the road ahead was clear. _On the road again_ , she lamented as they all moved towards their respective cars.

 **Day 67**

Upon arriving at the town closest to the highway where they had been set upon by the massive hoard of walkers, Rick and Shane decided it was best to stay the night. Daisy stared through the boarded up window in front of her at the illustrious main street of Senoia, Georgia; compared to Atlanta, it was a one-horse town. They had huddled up in an abandoned Pizza shop for the night, Daisy claiming a deserted corner of the store as her temporary home.

Though the sun had barely risen, Daisy was nursing a Sprite that she had lifted from the smashed-in window of the soda machine. Wrinkling her nose at its warmness, but it wasn't flat at all, even after two months. Daisy flicked through another page of the comic she had surfaced, grimacing slightly as Archangel sliced a man completely in half at the waist... _and now Wolverine is stabbing him in the back with his rad claws_. The violent bloody images didn't faze her as much as they should have, though, _living in an apocalypse in which the dead frequently rise would do that to a girl_.

"What're you reading?" A small voice asked, Daisy wriggled around in her sleeping bag to face Carl.

"X-Force comic." She said shortly, holding it up so that she could continue to read the words in the small light streaming through the gaps in the boards covering the window.

"What's X-Force?" Sophia's voice added, her wide eyes joining Carl's.

"Like X-Men?" Carl guessed.

Daisy hummed, "Yeah, kinda. Like X-Men but...with looser morals." She looked up to see Carl seeming confused and Sophia seeming anxious—if her wide eyes had any indication.

"Daisy?" Rick called quietly over to her, she looked up with question in her gaze, "Can you c'mere?"

Daisy sighed lowly and snapped her comic shut, shooting the kids a mockingly annoyed look as she stood and shuffled over to where Rick was standing with a tired yawn. Behind her, she heard a pair of giggles and the rustle of the comic, she thought to stop them but decided a comic would not hurt them too devastatingly.

"You called, boss?"

Rick seemed to restrain himself from protesting them nickname, "Would you be up for a supply run with Glenn?"

"Sure," Daisy agreed wholeheartedly, "Where to? And what for?"

"T-Dog's in a lot of pain and we're running low on painkillers." Rick grimaced, Daisy mimicked him as her gaze wandered over to T-Dog who was clutching his arm to his chest—when they had been hiding from the herd of walkers, he slipped and sliced his forearm open on a wayward piece of metal, "Thanks for this, Daisy." He patted her on her shoulder and left her to it. Daisy quickly found Glenn and proposed they leave presently.

"Uh, yeah...just let me..." Glenn rifled around in his duffel, finding his hat and slapping it on his head with a smile. They headed towards the entrance to the pizza shop, Daisy detouring momentarily to retrieve the knife she had forgotten that she did not have on her—as well as emptying the neon yellow backpack to store their supplies in—and exited promptly.

"Where d'you think pain meds'd be?" Glenn widened his eyes towards her. Daisy hummed for a second, scanning the deserted street, her eyes lit up.

"Probably that drug store right across the street." Daisy quirked a smile and pointed a finger down the street a ways, then headed towards the store, Glenn hurrying along after her. Within minutes they were off the street and at their destination, the bell above the door tinkling lightly as they entered.

The store was uniform, and quite small, a few aisles filled with scattered medical supplies and an open window on the far wall. Daisy moved towards the window, peering in to see a shelf loaded with prescription bottles. Figuring that the strongest meds would be in the back, she hoisted herself up onto the counter and edged into the sequestered room, ducking under the edge of the window.

"Glenn!" She called back in a harsh whisper, he turned to her with wide eyes and pink cheeks from where he had been staring wistfully at the small section dedicated to prophylactics and contraception, "Get your head in the game, Glenn. C'mon, back here." Daisy chuckled to herself as she scanned the shelves, there was a low thump as she heard Glenn presumably knock some products off the shelves. With a groan, Daisy remembered that she knew approximately nothing when it came to medicine, "Glenn, what the hell do I get?" When she heard no reply, she turned around, "Glenn?"

"Not Glenn." Daisy's eyes widened at the unfamiliar voice, a heavyset, balding man was standing in the middle aisle, Glenn restrained with a heavy arm over his neck and a knife pointed at his head—Glenn's own knife.

"Whoa, whoa! We don't want any trouble!" Daisy's voice shook and her hands were raised in an attempt to calm the man.

"What're you doin' in here, stealing everything?" The man sounded angry, "People need this medicine!"

"Wh—? I know!" Daisy was confused, "We have a friend, he was hurt and is in a lot of pain. We just need something to help him, that's all." Her voice turned pleading.

"There's more of you?" Panic started to shine in the man's eyes, Daisy knew that if she did not assuage that panic, he could act irrationally and hurt Glenn.

"We don't mean any trouble. We have other women, and kids?" Daisy added hopefully, the man's arm loosened around Glenn's neck, "Look, can you please lower the knife?"

"You won't...y'won't attack me?" He confirmed, Daisy shook her head emphatically, hands raising higher. The man dropped his grip on Glenn and backed away quickly, knife lowering fractionally. Glenn gasped and moved towards Daisy, then stopped just behind the nearest shelf, "Your friend, he wasn't bit? He's just hurt?"

Daisy nodded with wide eyes, the man lowered the knife even more, "I...know a vet, he could help." A shaky breath shuttered from her throat, Daisy dropped her hands to rest on the bench.

"That would...be good." Daisy looked over at Glenn for guidance, he was just as visibly panicked as she was, "What's your name?"

"I'm Otis. And you?"

"Daisy...that's Glenn. We, uh, need painkillers...you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" The man set his lips into a firm line, nodding in unsure agreement.

"Probably best to go oxycodone, or morphine." Otis informed her, Daisy cleared her nervous throat and shot a meaningful glance towards Glenn before turning her back on the two and searching the shelf once more.

"Glenn, wanna come here?" Daisy called back as she examined two entirely identical bottles of pills. Opening the bottles, Daisy hummed indecisively at the tiny pink pills in one, and tiny blue pills in the other; deciding to go with the blue, Daisy closed the bottle and placed the morphine pills on the counter, sliding them towards Glenn's open hand. After another minute of wary shuffling between bottles, Daisy also slid a bottle of tiny white oxycodone pills towards Glenn, leaning against the counter, asking in a quiet voice, "You think we should trust this guy?"

Glenn not-so-covertly glanced back at Otis who was shoving a few supplies into his pack, Daisy noticed that he included tampons, and sincerely hoped he had women in his group and got them for only that reason.

"Maybe..." Glenn started, leaning his head close to Daisy's, "Maybe we should ask the others?"

"Yeah. I just don't think we can risk T-Dog getting an infection." Daisy grimaced, the group had gotten worryingly small since its dire yet abundant beginnings, "Hey, uh, Otis?" The man looked up warily, standing with his pack tight around his shoulders, hand still grasping Glenn's knife, "We need to consult with the group...would you want to meet outside the bank down the street in an hour? If we aren't there, you'll know they said no."

Otis stared at her with narrowed eyes, then lightened as he seemed to gather that she was not a threat to him, "Deal." He edged out of the store and Daisy looked through the store window as he moved down the street and out of sight.

"Man, I hope that was the right move." Daisy sighed as she vaulted back over the counter, "At least we got the pills." Glenn shook the bottles with an irreverent smile, making Daisy snort and shake her head.

"Let's go...hopefully not face the firing squad."


	29. Prospect

**Chapter Twenty Nine: Prospect**

 _Prospect: a mental picture of a future or anticipated event._

 **Day 67**

Glenn and Daisy flinched simultaneously as a large hole was punched in the plaster of the nearby wall; Shane tore his fist out of the wall and held it in his other hand, glaring at them as if it was their fault he was so impulsive.

"Th' fuck made you two think it was a good idea to talk to some stranger—put the rest of us in danger?" He growled, Rick was by his side trying to calm him with exasperation.

"Hey, what?" Daisy narrowed her eyes at him, then searched around the group for someone with sense, "We didn't put _shit_ in danger! I didn't say where we were. And I can't control where other people go to get their supplies. Otis seems like an okay dude, so I took his offer of help? We don't have to meet up with him, Jesus." Daisy glared back at Shane.

With gritted teeth, Shane backed away from them at Rick's hand placed firmly on his chest, "Calm down, man. They didn't mean any harm." Daisy and Glenn shared a glance and looked back with eyes widened to propagate their innocence, channelling Disney—Stitch and Bambi respectively. Rick turned back to them, staring between Glenn and Daisy with an amused glint in his gaze, "What exactly did this guy say?"

Glenn and Daisy shared another glance, Glenn spoke, "He said he knew a vet that could help with T-Dog." He nodded his head over to where T-Dog was grimacing in pain at a nearby table, Carol reapplying his bandages—the old ones stained crumpled and stained a stark red, "We thought it would be better to be safe than sorry, be a bit of a bummer to die of an infection from a wayward car than from a walker..." Glenn quirked a smile, it dropped at Rick's raised brow.

"How did he look?" Lori suddenly interjected, "The man...was he—?"

Daisy furrowed her brow, "He seemed pretty normal...wore a camo hat?" Lori stared at her wordlessly, then accepted the answer with a sigh, Daisy turned back to Rick, "So, we gonna go? Or, are you on the side of...the Hulk over there?" She narrowed her eyes at Shane who glared right back.

"We can't risk it, Rick. This guy could be a psycho," Shane drawled.

" _We_ could be psychos," Daisy said, "But that didn't stop him from offering help!"

"How 'bout we see how T feels?" Rick said tiredly, scrubbing a hand over his face. Daisy grimaced guiltily and quietened.

"Sounds good to me," Glenn smiled.

After consulting T-Dog—and receiving the go-ahead—Rick, Daisy, Glenn and the aforementioned T journeyed down the street towards where they saw Otis leaning against the faded brick wall of the presupposed meeting place: the Bank of North Georgia. Daisy grimaced lightly as T-Dog's arm pulled on her loose curls as it was slung over her shoulders and adjusted it accordingly, glancing behind his head she saw that Glenn was likewise struggling—they weren't the strongest of the group, and T-Dog was at least a contender for the title, so it was tough going for them.

"Otis?" Rick called as they stopped a few dozen yards from the lounging man. Otis' head snapped up and his brow furrowed at the sight of them.

"Is this the...injured man?" Otis said, his voice hard with wariness.

"Yep, thought it'd be best to just bring him and our...leader?" Daisy piped up, faltering on the last word with a calculating glance towards Rick, "At least until we all trust each other a little more." She smiled hopefully at Otis, who made his way towards them.

"My, uh, truck's over there." Otis nodded to a powder blue pick-up parked on the street, "Two'a you'll have to go in the back."

Glenn and Daisy shared an amused, weary stare, Glenn said wryly, "That'll be us, then." He nodded towards Daisy and she helped him over to the passenger side of the truck, Rick helping them manoeuvre him inside the cab once Otis had unlocked the door. Stretching out her overworked arms, Daisy followed Glenn to the back with a sigh.

"We do always seem to pull the short stick, huh?" Daisy chuckled as she pulled herself up into the bed of the truck and crawled to sit against the front.

"I think it's 'cause we're young and spry, able to cope with a lot more stress than these old folks." Glenn grinned and Daisy snorted in agreement, they settled in next to each other with their legs spread out in front of them, the truck started with a splutter and began to drive down the road.

Behind them, they could hear a wary T-Dog querying their new apparent ally on just how much his veterinarian friend had operating on people. At Otis' unsure reply, a groan sounded from T that Daisy did not think had to do with the pain he was likely feeling.

As the air rushed through her hair and blew it over her forehead, Daisy closed her eyes and relished in the light tickling feeling and the warm glow of the sun on her face, hand thrown to the side and waving up and down with the wind like she had seen in countless lame teen movies. She heard a snort from Glenn and opened her eyes a sliver to see him grinning and following her example, her contented smile widened with mirth and her nose wrinkled.

After a short drive, the truck turned off the main road and began to journey down a long dirt driveway, the sun was blocked by the heavy canopy of tall oak trees and Daisy spun around to examine the world around them. She could see fields of yellow grass on either side and, looking towards where they were headed, she saw a quaint, white-siding farmhouse with a wrap-around porch.

"Ah, man...that's certainly quaint," Daisy mumbled to Glenn who nodded in agreement, they both faltered in their respective kneels as the truck came to a stop by the front steps of the house. Glenn and Daisy scrambled towards the back of the pick-up and stood to clamber over the tailgate, landing on the yellowing grass with a dull thud.

"Otis?" A weary voice called from the house, Daisy turned to see an older man standing wearily on the porch, a blonde-haired woman beside him. After a nudging push from Glenn, Daisy rushed around the side of the truck and helped Rick pull T-Dog from the truck, she could hear Otis explaining their situation in the background.

"Shit, it hurts." T-Dog grouched as they helped him up to the house, following the directions of the older man, who named himself as Hershel. With a sigh of relief, Daisy let go of T-Dog's arm after helping him sit at the table that Hershel had shown them and backed away.

"Patricia, get my kit, and some painkillers." Hershel ordered the blonde-haired woman as he pulled his sleeves up. Daisy and Glenn were ushered to the side by another girl who seemed to be their age, Daisy shot a side-eye at Glenn when she noticed that he was staring at the girl with wide eyes.

"Now is not the time," Daisy said quietly to Glenn with a mirthful snort, he blushed and looked both abashed and annoyed at Daisy, which caused her to chuckle.

"You sure he wasn't bit?" The girl asked Daisy, Daisy nodded with emphatically wide eyes, "Just have to be sure...I'm Maggie."

"Daisy...Glenn." She nodded at the silent Glenn who smiled weakly at Maggie's attention on him.

Maggie smiled at both of them and turned to help Hershel, handing him needle and thread when directed. T-Dog grimaced in discomfort as Hershel began to stitch his wound closed, but seemed grateful to have been plied with painkillers.

"How did this happen, young man?" Hershel asked with a furrowed brow as he concentrated on stitching the sutures.

"Uh, cut it on a rusty piece of broken metal when we were hiding from a herd of walkers." T-Dog said shortly, Hershel looked up and studied his face for a moment with concern.

"Walkers?"

"Yeah, those dead things? You might'a noticed 'em, walking around." T-Dog smiled wryly.

"Fair enough." Hershel tied off the last stitch and began to wrap T's arm.

Daisy huffed a bored sigh and leant against the wall behind her, shooting a considering glance towards Glenn, "So, that Maggie girl," Daisy wiggled her brow when Glenn returned her gaze, "You like her?"

"Jesus..." Glenn sighed, rolling his eyes heavenward, "Well, Daisy, I haven't said two words to her, so I don't exactly know her."

Daisy quirked a wry smile, "But...you do, right?"

"Maybe," Glenn said shortly, making Daisy snort another laugh. The person of their discussion looked over at her snort, and Daisy tried to supress her smile at Glenn's elbow digging sharply into her stomach.

"Whoa, be cool, man." Daisy ducked away from his elbow, "No need for violence."

"What are you two giggling about?" A voice suddenly asked from beside them, both Glenn and Daisy snapped their eyes to see Rick staring at them with a tiredly amused smile.

"Nothing!" Glenn whispered harshly, shooting a warning look towards Daisy who just smiled innocently back.

After a moment, Daisy spoke, "Glenn has a crush on Maggie."

"I do not!" Glenn said a little too loudly, causing the rest of the occupants in the room to shoot him confused looks, he leaned in and stared at Rick with pleading eyes, speaking more quietly, "I do not."

"Who's Maggie?"

"The cute brunette helping Hershel." Daisy informed him with a smile, he glanced back at her and then shot a knowing smile towards Glenn who blushed once more.

"Ugh, this is the worst." Glenn muttered, crossing his arms.

Soon after T-Dog had been fully bandaged and the four newcomers were invited to drink tea in the living room of Hershel's house, Daisy had her eyes closed in bliss as she hovered the teacup in front of her face, the warm and milky aroma tickling at her nose. She had never been too fond of tea, but it felt like heaven as it slid down her throat after the chaos of life in the past few days.

"Are there...many more of you? In your group, I mean." She cracked her eyes open, Hershel was not one to beat around the bush, it seemed.

Rick pursed his lips and remained quiet for a second, before answering with some trepidation clouding his tone, "Not including us? Nine," He said bluntly. Across from them, Daisy saw Hershel's eyes widen and he spared Otis a troubled look.

"No threat though...a small percentage of those people may or may not be women and children," Daisy said with an eyebrow raised, feeling comfortable releasing that information to these people—they seemed nice enough. As Daisy expected, this calmed the others somewhat.

"I expect it takes a lot, feeding and protecting a group of...thirteen," Hershel said.

Daisy took another sip of her warm tea as Rick replied shortly and reluctantly, "Yes." Rick sighed, "Things have been...difficult, to say the least. Not enough food...no shelter."

Maggie stepped forward, "You have kids?" She clarified, then turned to Hershel, "Daddy, I think we should help them, offer them a place here."

"Now, Maggie, we don't know if we can trust—"

"Daddy. They could starve." Maggie raised her brow and looked expectantly at Hershel—who was apparently her father.

Daisy buried her nose in her cup and took another sip, eyes gazing wide at Hershel over the rim. She sneaked a finger onto the saucer and picked up the cookie she had been given, taking a bite—it crunched loudly in the silence and brought Hershel's gaze to her, she tried to widen her eyes further to perpetuate an aura of innocence.

"I don't think I can, Maggie." Hershel sighed, then turned to Rick, "You seem like nice people, but I just can't put my family at risk." At that, Daisy huffed in disappointment, her hand coming up to twist in her hair. She took another sip of tea but it tasted bitterer to her, after their hopes had been dashed, "I'd like you four to be on our way, now. Otis'll take you back to your people."


	30. Opportunity

**Chapter Thirty: Opportunity**

 _Opportunity: a time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something._

 **Day 68**

A low _thwip_ pierced the silence, Daisy flinched and brought her hands up in front of her, shooting a dirty look towards Daryl, "Give me some warning, Jesus." He returned her dirty look, though with less heat than hers, and stalked forward over the crunching leaves on the forest floor towards where he had aimed his bolt.

"Yeah, Jesus, give a girl some warning!" Merle snickered off to the side where he was lazing against a tree trunk, the acrid scent of cigarette smoke drifting slowly towards Daisy, her nose crinkled again at seeing the origin of the distasteful smell.

"I just don't see why you people feel the need to smoke all the goddamn time...I'm over here trying to _breathe_." Daisy muttered, kicking a stray twig away and pouting at it angrily as if it had given her offense.

"Why're you so fuckin' grumpy today, Curly?" Merle drawled, putting his cigarette out on the tree trunk behind him and meandering on over to where Daisy was standing.

Daisy sighed, "I just thought we'd get to sleep in safety last night, on the farm...And poor Glenn, I think he really thought he had a shot with Maggie. I'm not too sure about that, but she seemed to think he was funny."

Merle snorted, "Chinaman was flirtin' up a lady? And she was lettin' him?"

Daisy glared at Merle, holding his gaze for a long moment, "He's Korean...maybe just don't bring up people's ethnicities at all." She glanced over to where Daryl had gone, and saw him kneeling down behind some bushes, "Racist motherfucker..." Daisy mumbled to herself, then ushered Merle to follow after Daryl.

"Caught anything, baby brother?"

"Rabbit."

Merle groaned, it took everything Daisy had not to groan with him. Not that Daisy wasn't grateful for fresh meat...she, and all in the group, had lost a taste for dry-ass rabbit.

"Don't you go on groaning, ungrateful bastard." There was a sickening crack which made Daisy wince, and the rabbit was strung up on the line hanging over Daryl's shoulder. Daryl stood with a sigh, adjusting the line and squinting between the two thoughtfully.

"Head back to camp?" He suggested, not waiting for their answer before trudging through the mess on the forest floor.

Daisy sighed, following the Dixon brothers in a haphazard line, adjusting her shirt and wincing as the fabric stuck to her skin with her sweat; Georgian heat was not a fun experience. A low growling drifted into her ear as they walked and she looked down to the side to see a walker, its legs had been separated from its body and its left arm was missing, but that did not seem to dissuade it. Daisy stared at its snapping jaws, blackened blood was drying on its chin, it seemed weak—maybe it was the heat. Before she started sympathising with an undead creature, Daisy shook the walker from her mind and continued on after the others.

Merle suddenly spoke up, "So, whaddaya thin—"

A piercing scream cut through the air and interrupted Merle, all three snapped their heads to look in the direction the scream was echoing from.

"Th'fuck?" Merle murmured with annoyance, Daryl paid him no mind and started towards the direction they were facing with haste. With a long-suffering groan, Merle followed after his brother, and Daisy followed just behind with trepidation clouding her thoughts.

Another scream, much lower this time, filled the air. It sounded closer. They came upon a creek, it dipped low in the ground and they hastily came to a stop lest they topple over and fall down the steep decline.

"There," Merle said, his voice hard as he nodded over to a girl that Daisy saw was lying on the dirt by the creek, on the opposite side to them. Narrowing her gaze, Daisy could see a smattering of red blood dotting the girl's pale hair. Unceremoniously, Daryl began to edge his way down the hill, hands grabbing tightly onto thin trees that dotted the ground, "C'mon, Daryl, ain't anyone we know!"

"Augh, let's go—he'll probably need our help to get her up." Daisy gulped as she began to follow after Daryl, heart jumping in her chest as she slipped on a loose leaf, thankfully throwing a hand out to grip a tree before she fell. Behind her, she could hear Merle following after her, muttering snide complaints under his breath.

After a few tense minutes, all three had made their way down to the creek, Daryl on the other side after traversing the water. Steeling herself, Daisy dipped her boot into the shallow creek and felt around for the bottom, then let down her other foot. With a grimace for the integrity of her boots and jeans, Daisy shuffled through the trickling water and made her way to the other side.

A low groan came from the girl as Daryl lifted her head and peered through narrowed eyes at the blood staining her blonde hair. Daisy stepped out of the creek with a shiver at the cold seeping through her jeans and into her boots, blessing the fact that her jeans were dark and unlikely to stain from the muddy creek water—then cursing herself for worrying about such a thing while the girl was laying prone and hurt just a few feet away.

"Oh, shit," Daisy muttered as she knelt by Daryl, leaning in to study the girl's face, "She was at Hershel's farm yesterday...she must be his daughter...or something."

"She dead?" Merle asked callously from where he had snuck up behind Daisy, she glared back at him for said callousness and then looked expectantly at Daryl, wanting to know the answer herself.

"She's alive, just hit her head, looks like," Daryl mumbled with a furrowed brow, fingers on the pulse point on her wrist. The girl scrunched up her face and moaned as she stirred away from Daryl's grip on her arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" Daisy ducked her head down and stared worriedly at the girl, "What's your name?"

"Hold off on the third degree, Girly," Merle scolded, crouching down beside them, "Best we get her back to camp? Maybe that old guy'll give us food to get her back."

Daryl and Daisy simultaneously stared at him with incredulity, Daisy snapped at him, "Fuck you, Merle...we're not kidnapping her!"

After a solid minute of chiding, then a solid half hour of walking back to camp—lengthened due to Daryl having to carry an unconscious girl in his arms—the three arrived at their destination and were immediately greeted by the worried, and in some cases angered, faces of their group.

"Who's that?" Rick strode ahead of the rest to look at the girl in Daryl's arms with concern.

Daisy gasped a bit from lack of breath from their hasty walk back, then managed, "I think she's Hershel's daughter. We found her down by some creek, unconscious and bleeding from the head."

"Reckon we could trade her for shelter, some supplies at the least," Merle said with a confident grin, everyone turned to him with incredulity that mirrored that felt by Daryl and Daisy earlier—though the idea was sound, Merle's bluntness and lack of concern for the girl left much to be desired.

"Put her down in here," Carol said with some concern, directing Daryl towards the RV.

"Th'hell you thinking? Bringing some girl back to our camp?" Shane stood close to her, ducking his head to glare directly in her face, Daisy took a step back and an indignant snarl flickered across her face.

"She's unconscious for Christ's sake, I think even I'd be able to take her if worse comes to worst," Daisy scoffed at him, then continued in a harsh whisper, "What the fuck is your problem with me, anyway?"

Shane grimaced and clenched his fist, bruised knuckles turning white with the movement, "My problem is with the fact that you seem to think that any poor soul deserves our help, deserves our supplies, deserves our trust...sooner or later, that's gonna bite us all in the ass."

Before Daisy could get another word in, Rick shushed the both of them, "Everyone calm down! Shane, if this girl is Hershel's daughter, don't you think he might be grateful to have her returned safe and sound? He might trust us, help us." Rick looked at Shane imploringly, Shane grimaced once more, narrowed his eyes between Rick and Daisy, then scoffed and left without another word.

Daisy stared after him with a blank expression, then muttered under her breath, "That guy can be such a tool." She glanced towards Rick, who was staring back with pursed lips and a resigned look that seemed to agree with her.

"Daisy," Rick started with a sigh, Daisy grimaced at how he seemed so exhausted, "Can you maybe try and maintain some calm when speaking with Shane?" As Daisy began to raise her hackles, Rick raised up a hand to quiet her, "I know he's unreasonable...at times," Rick grimaced, "But he means well. Just wants the group to be safe. Be the bigger person?" He suggested hesitantly.

Daisy stared at Rick for a long moment, at the honest plea in his eyes, then said simply, "Fine. But he's still the asshole in this situation. And most situations."

A relieved smile broke Rick's serious countenance and he huffed a laugh, clapping Daisy on the shoulder in a parting gesture then following Carol, Daryl and Lori where they had entered into the RV with the unconscious girl.

Groaning lightly, Daisy ruffled a hand through her loose curls then looked around the camp. It was a dismal sight—two cars and an RV parked in an old campsite against the tree line with a small rock-lined campfire off to the side, a few people gathered around it in camp chairs and on the dirty ground in the absence of a free seat. She meandered on over to the campfire and sat on the ground by Amy's feet, greeting Carl beside her with a friendly elbow in the ribs.

"Ugh, hey!" Carl protested, elbowing her back—Daisy decided to take Rick's advice and be the bigger person, not elbowing him again, she smirked at her irreverent thoughts.

"Who was that girl?" Daisy tilted her head to see Amy who had spoken softly, she was looking down with a soft smile, the most she seemed able to manage after her sister's untimely death. Around her, Daisy could also see the others looking on in interest, only Carl and Sophia continued to speak and giggle amongst themselves.

"The vet who patched T up," Daisy nodded towards the aforementioned man where he sat across from them sipping on a mug of what Daisy guessed was coffee, "I think she's his daughter. We found her by some creek, unconscious...hoping to patch her up, maybe garner some trust from Hershel."

"What luck, this girl has been injured and presented herself as our salvation..." Dale said hesitantly, brow furrowed.

Daisy defended herself, "It's not like _we_ injured her...so what if us helping her happens to also help us?"

"Calm down with the moral dilemmas, Dale," Glenn interjected with a nervous laugh, the rest of the group gathered cracked a smile, even Dale, though his was slightly self-deprecating.

"I suppose you're right, Glenn."

"I often am," Glenn replied assertively, smile widening to offset his haughty tone.

"So, we are gonna stay at the farm after all?" Sophia piped up hesitantly, gaze searching Daisy intently.

Daisy hummed with some reluctance clouding her thoughts, "Maybe. It depends on whether Hershel trusts us, which might be a bit if we return his daughter back to him safely...and we will. Do that, I mean."

"That would be nice," Amy spoke again suddenly, her stare drifted off to look at nothing and she turned thoughtful, "I've always wanted to live on a farm. With the...animals, the sun." She closed her eyes and sighed as she leant her head back against the camp chair she was slumped in. The others hummed in agreement, including Daisy—she thought a nice, relaxing stay at a farm would be a nice change from the bullshit she had come to expect as regular in this new world. To not have to worry every second of every day, that was the dream.


	31. Return

**Chapter Thirty One: Return**

 _Return: an act of coming or going back to a place or activity._

 **Day 68**

Through dirtied glass, the low peach and pink glow of dusk could be seen just above the heavy cover of mossy-green forest, peeking through the fluttering of thousands of leaves. A yawn escaped Daisy as she rubbed at her eyes, gaze starting to drift into the middle distance as she stared and stared and did nothing else. She had been relegated to watch duty—being the least threatening of those who had gone to Hershel's and been seen by the girl they had found, Hershel's daughter, Daisy guessed. She had yet to awake, but both Carol and Lori thought Daisy would be the most acceptable sight for the girl to awake to, being in a foreign and unknown place.

A dull thump sounded as Daisy leant her elbow on the wobbling RV table, she winced as she regretted the force she had used. There was a low exhale of breath at the sound and she turned with wide eyes to see the girl, who was resting down the short hall in the very back of the RV on the springy bed now with a bandage wrapped around her head wound, stir from her sleep. Daisy grimaced nervously then stood, rubbing at her sore elbow as she approached the girl, shrugging her shoulders down in an attempt to appear weaker—not that she necessarily needed it.

"Hey, there...uh—" Daisy cut herself off when she realised she did not know the girl's name—and she couldn't exactly call her 'the girl' to her face. As the girl began to blink her blue eyes open and furrow her brow up at Daisy, she crouched down slightly, "What's your name?" Another grimace from Daisy, "I mean...are you feeling okay? Looks like you...banged your noggin' real good."

 _Jesus Christ, Daisy, where did your cool go?_ Daisy scratched at an itch on her nose as she internally cursed her inability to act like a normal human being when confronted with comforting a person—as well as her inability to refrain from internally referring to herself in third person. _Fucking 'noggin'_ , she mentally repeated with an amused smirk cracking her neutral expression. The girl widened her eyes and her gaze darted around, Daisy cursed herself again, _don't smirk for no apparent reason, now she looks even more freaked_.

"My name is Daisy...this is an RV," Daisy said, gulping as her throat felt suddenly dry, "Do you...are you a relative of Hershel...that old guy with the...white hair and suspenders and the farm?" The uncertain words lilted up to sound like a question, and the girl turned her attention back to Daisy, seemingly studying her.

"Hershel's my father," The girl said with a Southern accent similar to that which Daisy had come to know very well in the months following the apocalypse—everyone seemed to have one around here, which made sense when she recalled that they were in Georgia.

"Thought so! Do you remember me? I—my people, we needed some help. Your dad patched him up and we were...sent on our way?" Daisy informed her, the girl seemed to calm fractionally as she examined Daisy's face and apparently recognised her, "What's your name?"

"I'm Beth," She said shortly, voice still clouded with wariness as one hand came up to touch at the bandage around her head.

"Beth! Great," Daisy said with an enthusiasm that made her grimace threaten to return full force, "Well, my pal Daryl, his brother and I heard you scream. Found you down by some creek and brought you back here when we saw your...uh, wound there." She gestured vaguely to the bandage Carol had tied temporarily around Beth's head.

"I need to..." Beth furrowed her brow in what seemed to be pain as she held her forehead, "Go back home."

"Sure! Sure," Daisy said lightly, gaze dropping to the floor awkwardly, "I'll go get...Rick, then. He's...diplomatic..." She finished awkwardly, standing from her crouch.

"Your leader?" Beth supposed, Daisy nodded with a half-smile turned back towards her as she made the short walk through the RV. The door swung open with a tired whine and thumped against the outside of the RV and Daisy jumped down onto the ground. A few feet away, Rick was standing patiently with his attention turned to her, stepping forward to meet her.

"The girl, she's okay?" Rick clarified, Daisy smiled wide and nodded her head once.

"Yep, her name's Beth, she's Hershel's daughter...seems pretty nervous, understandably so. I told her you'd..." She gestured vaguely toward the RV and Rick nodded in assent, starting toward the wide open door. Daisy stared after him for a moment as he disappeared into the RV, then scanned the camp to see a few stragglers gathered around the campfire, which was burning low and brilliantly red.

"So, she's Maggie's sister?" Glenn asked with a hopeful smile as Daisy approached, she shot him a long look and then fell into the free camp chair beside him, wiggling around to create a more comfortable dip.

"Yes, she's Maggie's sister, you horndog," Daisy informed him with a smirk, causing Glenn to blush slightly then glare half-heartedly back at her.

"That's good," Glenn said shortly, sitting back in his chair, at Daisy's attention turning fully to him he continued, "That we might be able to have a more stable camp..."

"Sure, that's what you meant," Daisy scoffed with a wide smile overtaking her face, "Your one true love being there is just an added bonus."

Beside her, Amy huffed a quiet and amused laugh, sharing a smile with Daisy who was as always delighted at getting the usually despondent Amy to feel happier.

"So y'all high and mighty assholes finally takin' my advice?" Merle spoke up from across the fire, mean smirk twisting his countenance, "Gonna trade the girl for _safe harbour_?"

Daisy sighed with annoyance, "As I've said before, we are not _kidnappers_...if Hershel wants to thank us for returning his daughter, that's his prerogative."

Merle's gaze narrowed slightly at the last word but he relented with an exasperated huff, "I call it like I see it, girly."

They fell into silence, only broken by Daisy's muttering of " _thanks_ " for Amy's gift of a chocolate bar. Daisy tore off the already opened yellow plastic, surfacing the small bite left over. She popped the chocolate into her mouth and studied the paper with narrowed eyes.

"This was mine..." Daisy said with suspicion, sparing a glance for Amy who looked back sheepishly.

"Glenn knocked over your bag and they both fell out," Amy said, nodding over at another plastic _Butterfingers_ wrapper lying on the ground half under the weight of a stone.

"Way to through me under the bus," Glenn said indignantly, pouting slightly.

Daisy huffed a laugh, wincing as her jaw locked around the delicious and crispy peanut-butter candy, "No worries."

Another silence befell the group, this time charged with light amusement and enjoyment in the taste of the chocolate; the fire seemed to flare brighter as the golden sun dipped below the tops of the trees and darkness began to spread across the sky.

 **Day 69**

It had been decided that Beth was to stay the night with the group, and would be taken home the next day. The air was crisp and cool with a low wind, it snapped around Daisy, ruffling and tangling her hair and reddening her uncovered nose. The usual procession of cars journeyed on the highway, making the short trip through Senoia and down a winding dirt road to Hershel's farm.

"Can you close the window now?" Daisy asked blandly, sniffing her red nose in the general direction of Merle who had been smoking, his head sticking half out of the window as per Daisy's demands. Merle flicked the cigarette from his fingers with a glare at Daisy and huffed in compliance as he slowly began to wind the window back up, all the while maintaining his sullen disposition. Daisy rolled her eyes skyward then shook her head, "Stop being such a baby."

Another huff, this time being more clouded with annoyance, and the window finally closed, Daisy's nose wriggled in an attempt to regain some warmth. She took her hand from the steering wheel and rubbed at it fruitlessly, shifting her foot and pressing down on the brake when she saw the other cars ahead of her begin to slow, then followed them as they turned down a driveway hidden by a red-flowered bush.

Glancing to the side, Daisy saw a faded green mailbox proclaiming that the driveway led to the Greene's house and filed away the name for Hershel and his family. Narrowing her eyes as she caught a glimpse of the white farmhouse ahead, Daisy silently prayed that Hershel would allow them to stay at least a short while there. Beside her, the Dixon brothers were grumbling and pouting sullenly as usual; Daisy hoped they were able to stay if only for the chance of two sunnier personalities.

The procession came to a creaking stop and everyone began to file out of the cars, Daisy turned the car off and shouldered open the door. Almost immediately, Daisy could see Hershel, Patricia and Maggie step out of the house and onto the front porch, each with an identically suspicious look overtaking their features.

Hershel began, "I thought we had come to an agreement—" Hershel cut himself off with a sharp gasp and widening of his eyes as Carol and T-Dog helped Beth from the station wagon.

"Beth!" Maggie exclaimed as she began to bound down the steps and across the lawn, Hershel and Patricia not far behind her. The sisters collided, looking upset and grateful to be together again, Daisy and the others drifted off to the side and awkwardly looked anywhere but where the family was reuniting. Beside her, Daisy spotted Glenn's eyes drifting over to look at Maggie, then hurriedly snapping back to focus on what was apparently a particularly interesting dandelion.

"You found Beth?" Hershel's grave voice spoke up, Daisy looked to see him addressing Rick, a protective hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Daisy, Daryl and Merle did, down by some creek." Rick informed him, gesturing vaguely behind him in their direction, "Brought her back to camp but we thought it best to wait 'til sun up to bring her back. I apologise if there was any...upset in the meantime."

Hershel exhaled sharply, seeming explicably tired, "Thank you." He turned his piercing, thankful gaze on Rick first, then Daisy, Daryl and Merle in turn, Daisy shot him back an embarrassed smile, "My Bethy means a whole lot to me, so thank you all."

"Daddy," Maggie suddenly spoke up, her cheek resting against her younger sister's blonde hair, "They didn't have to rescue her, patch her up and bring her back...I think that seems like a pretty nice thing to do...trustworthy?" Hershel and Maggie shared a long look, Maggie's brow furrowed and her lips pursed stubbornly, Hershel sighed heavily.

"There might...be a place for you and your folk here. For a time, at least," Hershel said to Rick, there was a collective sigh of relief from the group.

"Thank you, Sir. We'll take you up on that offer," Rick replied with a relieved grin breaking through with any efforts to tamper it down being futile. Hershel stepped forward and offered his hand, he and Rick shared a handshake.

"Thank fuck for that!" Merle exclaimed a little too loudly, gaining a wide-eyed look from Hershel and Patricia.

"Merle, have a sense of propriety!" Daisy grumbled, slapping him firmly on the shoulder, "Don't mess this up for us."

Merle looked appropriately sheepish and ground out a reluctant apology which seemed to satisfy Hershel to some degree, Daisy looked up to the sky as if in some search for spiritual guidance.

"Sorry for Merle...he's an outlier," Daisy shot over to Hershel with a sheepish grin, "We're not all so crass!" Maggie gave a quiet snort and Daisy saw Glenn's face light up. Daisy looked between the two with an indulgent smile, then between Hershel and Merle with no small amount of worry; _well, this is certainly going to interesting_ , she thought to herself with wary amusement.


	32. Guilt

**Chapter Thirty Two: Guilt**

 _Guilt: a feeling of having committed wrong or failed in an obligation._

 **Day 69**

The night sky was an endless black expanse over the world, Daisy stared up in wonder at the thousands upon thousands of twinkling scars that dotted the darkness. The absence of light pollution was something that she did not think she would get used to, she smiled as her chin dipped and her gaze drifted over to the crackling orange blaze of fire in the centre of their haphazardly gathered group. Similarly smiling faces surrounded the campfire, each feeling lightened in the wake of their welcoming onto Hershel's property. Though they had been relegated to sleeping in tents by the house, this did not cause them much disappointment. They were just happy to be alive and safe.

"Pass me a beer," Daryl mumbled to Daisy, nudging at her lounging leg with a disparagingly muddy boot, she did not move save to shoot him an expectant look. He took the hint replied accordingly, "Please?"

"I will pass you a beer, Daryl! Thank you for your nice manners," Daisy replied quietly with an exaggerated smile, snorting to herself at his predictable eye roll. She leaned over and eased the cooler open, digging down amongst the slushy, somewhat melted ice to surface the coldest bottle.

"Thanks," he grumbled as she handed the bottle to him; she was continually amazed at how turbulent he made any interaction with him. Before she was able to dwell on this thought too long, she saw a colony—or whatever the word was—of fireflies fluttering beneath the low-hanging branches of a nearby tree. Her eyes flitted up and down with the swirling patterns the golden, glowing creatures made in the air, a sense of purely innocent enjoyment that she had not felt in too long filling her chest until she thought she might burst.

Daisy sighed and turned back to the group, absent-mindedly bringing the neck of her own beer closer and taking a sip, wincing at the taste but enjoying the warmth that spread through her chest.

"You even legal, girly?" Merle chuckled with a wide and happy smile—same as the rest of them—wiggling his brow at her when she turned to look.

"Uncalled for," Daisy pouted to herself, narrowing her eyes back at him, "I'm twenty-three...just 'cause you're old as hell..."

"You're twenty-three?" A voice suddenly popped in from behind her, Daisy glanced back to see Glenn smiling with glee, "You're a baby!"

"What?" Daisy asked with incredulity, sitting up from her lounging position to address Glenn at eye-level, "You cannot be more than a few years older than me, get off your high horse."

"I will stay on my high horse, thank you very—"

"You're both babies," Lori interjected from across the fire with an indulgent smile, "Amy too. Dinner tomorrow night y'all can sit at the kiddie table with Carl and Sophia if you're gonna squabble like them."

A low chuckle fluttered throughout everyone but Glenn, Daisy and Amy, the latter had sat up indignantly at being caught in the crossfire. Daisy shared a meaningful glance with Glenn and Amy, deciding to stand with them in solidarity against the old fogies.

 **Day 70**

Daisy was standing in front of the green-painted door of the Greene family home, feeling remarkably as if she had been called to the principal's office, one hand posed to knock against the wood. With a nervous grimace at the fluttering sensation in her stomach, Daisy went to knock when the door suddenly fell back away from her fist, the nervously smiling face of Patricia suddenly appearing and in threat of being punched by Daisy.

Retracting her hand, Daisy's grimace turned to a sheepish smile, "Hey, there! I hear Hershel's looking for me?"

"C'mon in," Patricia said, ushering Daisy in without another word, pointing her down the small hall to the kitchen. Daisy spared a confused glance for the woman, but decided to follow her urging and meet promptly with Hershel.

Upon entering the kitchen, Daisy saw Hershel seated at a small table with his daughters, each with a nervous aura similar to that of Patricia's, Glenn stood off to the side shooting small glances towards Maggie.

"You, uh, look..." Daisy belatedly decided not to bring up their currently nervous dispositions, "I mean, you wanted to see me?" She cursed her own perpetuation of the called-into-the-principal's-office theme with her choice of words.

"Sit," Hershel made it sound like a polite order, so Daisy did so, "I believe you know Otis?"

Daisy glanced between the faces of Hershel, Maggie and Beth, then shot Glenn an inquiring look and received nothing, "Yeah...he helped us out," she clarified.

"Yesterday, Otis and Beth's...boyfriend Jimmy left to search for Beth and they did not return at the time we had agreed upon," Hershel said, hesitating with a long look at his youngest daughter at having to call the kid her boyfriend. Daisy furrowed her brow.

"I'm sorry," she said for lack of better words, "Did you want us to help look for them?"

Hershel looked relieved, "Now, I know you don't owe us any favours, but—"

"We'd be happy to!" Glenn interjected with a bright smile, eyes flickering to Maggie for a moment as if to gauge her reaction to his outburst. The beginnings of a grateful smile were lifting Maggie's cheeks, and Glenn brightened even further, nodding resignedly to Hershel—though some nervousness returned at Hershel's suspicious glance between the two.

"We would," Daisy said, half trying to help Glenn out and detach Hershel's attention from him, "Like to help, that is. You're allowing us to stay here, so I say we owe you a whole lot." Daisy smiled towards Hershel and his daughters, "Besides, we have a whole lot of self-sacrificing boneheads who'd love to do anything to save anybody; that includes Otis and Jimmy!"

Hershel hummed in reluctant agreement, before elaborating, "I thought that you and your friend here," he nodded towards Glenn, "Might go into Senoia and gather some supplies, look around for any sign of them." Daisy nodded agreeably, sparing a glance for Glenn. When she saw that he was grimacing slightly and widening his eyes toward her, then shooting meaningful looks at Maggie, Daisy took his meaning and reconsidered.

"Or, maybe Glenn and Maggie could go into town, she knows the area better and...me and my people can cover the surrounding woods?" Daisy suggested with a placating smile.

Hershel huffed and seemed to think for a moment, before looking searchingly at his daughter, who nodded emphatically. He then nodded decisively, "If you think that would be best."

 **Later**

The air was rife with the twittering of small birds as they rustled through the trees, and disparagingly absent of any cries for help of those missing. Daisy and Rick were partnered in the search for Jimmy and Otis, tasked with searching the north-eastern quadrant, while Merle and Daryl searched the south-eastern, Maggie and Glenn searched the nearby town of Senoia and Shane and Andrea searched the northern-most area. Meanwhile, Dale, T-Dog, Carol and Lori lived it up back at the camp. Daisy huffed a breath and wiped the gathered sweat from her brow, thinking that household chores might have been a better alternative to what had yet to be fruitful searching for missing people.

"You hear that?" Rick suddenly spoke over the low hush of natural sounds, Daisy tilted her head to look down from where she had stopped atop a tiny mound.

"No. I hear nothing," Daisy said with hopelessness dulling her tone.

"Sounds like a walker," Rick said in a pointedly quiet voice, nodding his head for her to follow after him as he surfaced his knife and held it tightly in hand.

Daisy sighed and longed for the far away, pre-apocalypse days of lounging and eating Cheez-Its while binging dumb reality television, then shook her head of fantasies and came back to the present moment, warily trudging down the short incline and joining Rick.

At his expectant look, Daisy also slid her knife from her belt and held it ahead of her, peeking around Rick's shoulder to see a run-down cabin hiding down a small ditch behind large, overgrown bushes. Though, upon coming closer it seemed to be more of a similar size to a tool shed than a cabin.

Rick placed a hand on the termite-eaten and blue peeling paint-covered door of the shack and glanced back toward Daisy. His other hand moved up as if to make some sort of sign, before he thought better of it and decided that Daisy would almost certainly not understand, so he just whispered, "Be ready. Knife up."

Daisy's knuckles whitened as her fingers tightened around her blade, exhaling slowly as Rick pushed open the door and it swung back with a low creaking sound on its rusted hinges. The low moan that Rick had heard made itself known to the apparently less-perceptive Daisy, the golden light of day flooded the shack through the opened door, revealing a figure steeped in shadow and curled in on itself.

It raised its head a few inches and focused its hazy, heavy-lidded gaze on the intruders, snapping its teeth and spitting at them as hunger began to trickle into its eyes. If not for the heavy wooden pallet weighing down on its body, the walker would surely have been up and sunken its teeth into their flesh, but Rick and Daisy were thankfully safe from it save the unlikely possibility that one of them became careless enough to position their ankles close enough for its perusal.

"Do you...think that's Jimmy?" Rick asked hesitantly, moving forward to inspect the walker's face more closely.

Daisy's eyes widened and her gaze dropped to the floor, she realised, "We don't even know what the kid looks like...whose bright idea was it to have a bunch of people who don't know what Jimmy looks like search for him?" Rick shot her a side-eye and she recalled that it was her own idea, "Okay...consider that a rhetorical question."

She stepped beside Rick and bent down to examine the walker with him, it turned its head toward her and snapped its teeth threateningly, "It's a boy...and looks to be around Beth's age...freshly deceased," Daisy concluded.

"Could be our guy," Rick agreed.

"I say we put him down and go back, see if they have a picture of him," Daisy proposed, Rick nodded in agreement, "You can..." She trailed off, gesturing vaguely between the knife in Rick's hand and the walker's snarling face.

Promptly, Rick reached down and twisted his fingers into the short, brown hair of the walker and held his head down against the dirt floor of the shack, then pierced the back of its head in one clean push of his knife. The growling ceased and so did the struggling movements of the walker. Rick stood and backed off, Daisy stayed in her crouch for a time studying the kid, hoping that he wasn't Beth's boyfriend. Maybe he was just some random kid who got caught in the shack and died, but a feeling deep in the back of Daisy's mind told her that he wasn't.

Glancing off to the side, Daisy noticed a straw hat sitting just under a nearby chair, dotted with blackened blood. She swiped it up and looked back at the kid, thinking that maybe the hat belonged to him. From what Hershel had told her, he had helped out around Hershel's farm... _farm-people wear hats, don't they_? Daisy figured it was worth a try, so she took the hat with her when she left the shack.

Outside, she found Rick leaning against a nearby tree, long and forlorn look on his face. Steeling herself for whatever unnecessary guilt she was about to face, Daisy approached him.

"He's just a kid," Rick said suddenly.

"Yes...?" Daisy drew out the word, fishing for whatever Rick obviously wanted to get off his chest.

"He shouldn't've died, regardless of whether he's Jimmy or not."

"His death wasn't your fault. You are aware of this, right?" Daisy said bluntly, narrowing her eyes when she saw that Rick startled, she had been correct in her guess of what he had been thinking.

"He shouldn't've died," Rick repeated.

"No, he shouldn't've," Daisy agreed. She sighed, then tried to reason with him, "You didn't even know him, he likely died before we brought Beth back. You are not responsible for every death under the sun."

"But if we had stuck around, tried to get Hershel to change his mind—"

"Hershel told us to leave, so we left. He rejected the possible protection we could have given him," Daisy reasoned. Rick's jaw tightened, she was almost beginning to regret fostering ties with people this unreasonably stubborn.

"My dad died six years ago, did you kill him too?" Daisy asked incredulously, narrowing her eyes at Rick, "Honestly...get over yourself." The lack of heat behind her words portrayed that she did not intend for the words to sting, Rick gave a long sigh and nodded, his brow still furrowed in guilt. Daisy looked at him for a long moment, then decided with a firm nod that it was likely the best she was going to get.


	33. Reluctance

**Chapter Thirty Three: Reluctance**

 _Reluctance: unwillingness or disinclination to do something._

 **Day 70**

The photograph was creased and faded, there were rips along one edge. Daisy narrowed her eyes as she studied it; Beth was pictured with a boy, Jimmy, her in a long, baby-pink dress and him in a cheap tux. With a grimace, she confirmed that Jimmy was the walker they had found in the shack. Her eyes flicked up to catch the gaze of Hershel, she could see Beth sitting behind him with her sister, both looking nervous yet hopeful.

"Yeah, this was him," she said bluntly, lips pursing in disappointment. Daisy thought about saying sorry, but thought it might be too contrived. She awkwardly handed Hershel back the photograph, he took it with a long sigh and folded it back in on itself, turning to his daughters.

"I'm sorry, Bethy—" Hershel sighed.

"But..." Beth looked up at her father, brow furrowed in confusion.

Daisy began to slowly back away from Hershel and his daughters, her exit slightly hindered when her foot caught on the corner of a rug. They turned to stare at her with their sad expressions, Daisy grimaced.

"Uh, I'll leave you guys to it."

Without another word, she turned and strode through the house and out the front door, breathing a sigh of relief as she reached the fresh air. The front door fluttered shut behind her, and she looked to the side to see Rick standing where she had left him, he was squinting at her from the harsh light of the afternoon sun, his tan police hat held tightly in his hand.

"It was him," Rick surmised from her expression, she nodded slightly in confirmation. He sighed lowly, halting at her sharp glance his way, "The others are having lunch, why don't you go join them."

Daisy nodded lightly, stepping down the first step before turning back, "You coming with?"

"Nah, I gotta talk to Hershel," Rick said shortly.

Daisy stared at him for a moment, "Well...remember it wasn't your fault."

Before he could say anything contrary, she walked hurriedly down the steps and began to meander across the lawn towards their makeshift camp. True to Rick's information, most of the group was gathered around an empty, slowly smoking fire pit, each with a plastic plate in hand. As Daisy approached them, Carol spotted her and bent down to rifle around in a bag, surfacing a plastic plate and spoon, and holding them out to her.

"Thanks," Daisy mumbled with sincerity, then she walked a few paces and squatted in front of the pot sitting on a low rock by the fire. Lifting the lid and peeking inside, Daisy saw a beef stew—the beef likely being squirrel, or maybe deer or turkey if Daryl and Merle had been lucky—that made her mouth water, the scent thick and flavourful. Taking her share, a ladleful, she closed up the pot and sipped a spoonful.

Her face smoothed into a contented smile at the taste and she stood, wandering over to sit on the grass by Amy and Glenn. Interrupting their rather enthralling conversation on whether or not Bruce Willis had survived the apocalypse.

"I'm just saying, you don't make movies like Die Hard without getting a little good at surviving," Glenn said pragmatically.

"Okay...A), Die Hard is a movie, not exactly true to life, and B), that was, like, thirty years ago...he'd be way old now," Amy countered with an amused smile.

"Daisy!" Glenn exclaimed upon seeing her, she smiled around another spoonful of stew as she sat cross-legged beside them, "Settle this, d'you think Bruce Willis survived the apocalypse?" Both Glenn and Amy looked expectantly at her, each fully expecting her to choose their side.

Daisy hummed and looked up to the sky in thought, "Well, he is a celebrity. So, maybe they'd straight-up fly him out of harm's way...but otherwise, I don't think so..." Glenn groaned, Daisy elaborated, "I mean, Hans Gruber is not the same as a hundred walkers." She laughed delightedly as Amy beamed at her support and Glenn groaned louder.

 **Later**

"Hey, Curly!" A hoarse voice called into Daisy's tent, she peeked her eyes over her book and glared at the offender. Merle grinned at her, not-affected by her hostile response, "Y'got my smokes?"

Daisy's glare lessened in confusion, "What? No...why would I have your smokes?"

Merle trudged into her tent, crouching down so his head didn't hit against the roof, "Cause you're the only one around here uptight enough to complain every time I light one, I reckon you'd think it your _moral duty_ to save me from lung cancer or whatever the fuck..."

Daisy's head snapped back in offense, "Okay...no. I did not take your smokes. You're a grown ass man, Merle. You can get all the lung cancer you want."

He scoffed and sat down on Amy's empty cot, Daisy sighed and hurriedly dog-eared her page, setting aside her book when she realised he was not intending on leaving any time soon. Merle glanced at the book she had set aside with disdain, as if reading for pleasure was a pursuit that personally offended him.

"Don't believe you," Merle informed her, but apparently decided to let the subject matter drop, "Found that fat fuck... _Otis_ ," he elaborated at her confused expression.

"He's okay?" Daisy asked with a hope that she did not really feel.

"Nah, he was dead in some ditch...likely fell over and couldn't get his fat ass back up." Merle chuckled to himself, Daisy got the image of a man-sized turtle on its back waving its feet around in an attempt to right itself and grimaced at the light-hearted version that was likely far from reality, pulling her sleeping bag up around her ears and peeking her eyes over the lip. Another person dead and gone.

"Maybe don't be so offensive in front of Beth and the others," Daisy suggested, all the while knowing he would likely not take her advice—or would specifically act against it just to spite her.

Merle scoffed, "Whatever." He seemed to brighten at remembering his purpose for being there, aside from the supposedly stolen smokes, "Anyway, Darylina was looking for you." Merle wiggled his eyebrows and laughed loudly at her purposefully unamused expression.

Daisy sighed and promptly squirmed out of her sleeping bag, sparing it one last longing glance before ushering Merle out of her tent and shuffling out after him. Without any parting words, Daisy left Merle to his own devices and trudged along the jumbled line of tents towards the campfire, hearing him mutter about his smokes grumpily in her wake. Scanning the few still gathered around the fire, she immediately spotted Daryl crouched by a large rock, skinning a scrawny squirrel on its smooth surface.

"You were looking for me?" Daisy said probingly, leaning forward and tilting her head to examine Daryl's squirrel, wrinkling her nose at the gore.

Daryl wordlessly pointed his knife in the direction of the line of dead squirrels curled up in a pile beside him, Daisy scoffed and reluctantly bent down to worry at the knot tying the closest squirrel to the line. Furrowing her brow at the knot's toughness, she turned her attention to Daryl.

"Why couldn't Merle help?"

Daryl huffed a laugh, knife slicing the back of the squirrel, "Merle's a piece'a shit, that's why..." He pulled the skin from the squirrel and Daisy averted her eyes back to the knot, shuddering, "You ain't too bad at cuttin' up game, though. Certainly a... _less painful_ experience."

Daisy glanced up and was pleased to see that Daryl was giving her a slight smile, the most one was likely to achieve from him. She returned his smile full-force, his eyes slightly narrowed and he returned his focus to the squirrel in his hands. Daisy acted similarly, finally managing to loosen the knot and manoeuvre the squirrel onto the rock beside Daryl's.

"So, how're you liking farm life?" Daisy asked cheerily as she took her knife from its precarious place in her belt loop.

Daryl squinted at her, "It's fine. Ain't no different than before, a shitty fence is better than none," he gestured towards the rundown, low white fence that surrounded the property, "And I s'pose it's easier to see walkers coming, with the fields."

"Yeah," Daisy drew out the word, widening her eyes to silently ask for some elaboration, glancing down with a wrinkled nose to study her motions in removing the tail and head. When she received no more word from Daryl, she continued, "The people are nice. Y'know—" Daisy interrupted herself with a snort and a wide smile that almost hurt her cheeks, "Glenn's been flirting with Hershel's eldest daughter, Maggie. And, he told me that when they went in town earlier, they had sex in the pharmacy." Daryl shot her a weird glance as she continued to laugh quietly under her breath, she stopped in an effort to still her hands as she pinched the skin on the back of the squirrel and made a slice. Daisy said with certainty and no small amount of amusement, "Hershel's gonna kill him."

There was a short silence, pleasantly amused on Daisy's part, then Daryl spoke, "Didn't no he had it in him." An almost proud smirk drifted across Daryl's face, Daisy hummed lightly in agreement, pulling the skin from her squirrel with a shudder—quick, like ripping off a Band-Aid.

"Daisy?" A voice suddenly called, Daisy tilted up her head and squinted against the falling sun; it was Lori, she stared at the loose skin of the squirrel that Daisy was setting off to the side with a queasy expression on her face.

"How can I help you, Lori?" Daisy asked, holding back a sigh. She wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her wrist, setting the knife down and welcoming a break from the truly arduous task she had undertaken for some five minutes.

"I—" Lori cut herself off, glancing uneasily toward where Daryl was being his usual surly self, her eyes widened as he abruptly sliced the head of the next squirrel off. She looked back toward Daisy with a forced smile, "Can we talk alone? Please?"

"I don't see why not," Daisy said, sounding as though she might wish for someone to interject with such a reason—they had never been the best of friends, or even acquaintances, so Daisy was understandably uneasy at the prospect of Lori's desired talk. Conjuring up images of Lori confronting her about Daisy and Shane's shaky accord or something Merle had said or done, Daisy followed her with some reluctance.

Once they had reached a point sufficiently far from prying eyes and ears, Lori stopped Daisy with a soft hand on her shoulder and furrowed her brow. Without warning, Lori leant her weight on Daisy heavily, Daisy staggered and brought her hands up to grip Lori's shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Daisy asked with concern as Lori scrunched up her eyes and gasped, her skin paling further by the minute. Her pallid skin made the concern in Daisy rise higher, "Are you sick?"

"I'm—" Lori opened her eyes and looked pleadingly at Daisy, "Look, Daisy, you can't tell anyone, but I think I'm pregnant."

A ripple of panic shot through Daisy, and she wished to whatever deity was listening that something would save her from this conversation with this woman she honestly did not know. As she realised something, Daisy narrowed her eyes, "But—"

"Yes, it might be Shane's," Lori said hurriedly, glancing around and bringing Daisy closer to her, "But I don't have time for judgement. I want to..." She cut herself off with a frustrated sigh. Daisy remained silent, wide eyes urging Lori to continue, "It's terrible now...no place for a baby...they're loud and—" Lori stared at Daisy, eyes pleading for something that Daisy could not place.

"You want to abort?" Daisy surmised, Lori grimaced and nodded reluctantly, "Well..." Daisy sighed, she did not know much about this whole pregnancy deal, "If you really think that's the best thing, which...you don't have to, just 'cause you think the group will be in danger."

"No, I—"

Daisy cut her off, nodding, "Okay, okay. What do you want me to do, then?" Lori's shoulders slackened and she managed to smile towards Daisy, and Daisy couldn't help but feel remorse for future Daisy and the inevitable shit that this situation will have gotten her into.


	34. Companionable

**Chapter Thirty Four: Companionable**

 _Companionable: (of a situation) relaxed and pleasant because shared with friends or friendly people._

 **Day 71**

Daisy could feel Glenn's burning gaze bore deep into the side of her head, she rolled her eyes and shot him a quick side glance. Her intrusion into his and Maggie's usual supply run into town was not welcome to say the least. Ahead, Daisy could see two walkers standing on the side of the road, their heads bowed together as if in some deep conversation. She took a moment to comprehend the normality of seeing such gory sights, then banished the thought and focused on driving. Without traffic, driving—and parking—was significantly easier. No more reverse parallel parking was a benefit Daisy could get behind.

"I just don't see what could be so important that you had to come yourself," Glenn sighed, likely lamenting his lost chance to score with Maggie.

Daisy felt no sympathy for him, "Get your head out of Maggie's ass, Glenn." She snorted at the visual, then crinkled her nose as it stuck in her brain. Daisy continued as he began to protest, "Someone trusted me to keep their secret. Do you think I want to be here?"

Glancing towards him once more, she saw that Glenn seemed to not believe her.

"Don't talk about Maggie's ass. Or think of it."

Daisy snorted again, a wide smile spread across her face, "Glenn, out of the two of us, I don't think it's me who's guilty of that."

"Oh, real mature," He berated her. Daisy thought to herself that Glenn was once again describing a crime that he himself was guiltier of.

"How is it going with Maggie, by the way?" Daisy asked with genuine curiosity—without reality television, she had to get the little drama that she seemed to require somewhere.

With a long sigh, Glenn answered, "She's being mean." Daisy looked to see that he was pouting, and a curl of amusement rose within her.

"Mean?" She lengthened the word with a questioning lilt, smiling to herself.

"Yeah, one minute we're having really great sex, the next she's completely ignoring me. It's like..." He trailed off.

"It's like...?"

Glenn rearranged himself to face Daisy head-on, she turned her head for a moment with narrowed eyes, he pursed his lips and looked down, then caught her gaze, "Are you...experiencing your _time_ at the moment."

A simultaneous feeling of amusement, confusion and rage overtook Daisy as she tried to focus on not crashing on a road with no other cars, "What in the actual fuck do you mean by my ' _time_ '?"

Glenn backed away as much as he could when seated beside her in a car, then stuttered his way through his answer, "Uh, I just thought—"

"You just thought...? What?" Daisy cut him off.

He sighed and his voice lowered as if to deter any eavesdroppers, "All the women in the camp have been acting...strangely, so I thought maybe your cycles have...synched up, or whatever." _Perhaps he has forgotten we're alone in a car_ , Daisy mused to herself while shooting Glenn an incredulous glare. He stuttered to defend himself, "Hey! I know that can happen! It's not an insane theory..."

"Okay," Daisy said firmly, hands gripping tightly to the steering wheel as they began to enter the city limits of Senoia, trying to prepare herself for the counter argument she felt indebted to all women to make, "Firstly, we've been on the farm for, like, two days, you crazy person, it takes forever for women to synch up, if they even do synch up. Secondly, you can't just invalidate a woman's emotions by saying they're a result of _menses_. Thirdly, did you ever think that maybe she's waiting for you to make a move, get to know her a little besides _biblically_? Lastly, don't ever talk about menstrual cycles again, just...leave it alone. Especially if you can't even say the name."

Daisy huffed an annoyed breath as she pulled up in front of the pharmacy and pulled up the hand brake. She leant forward and rested her chin on her arms where they were crossed on the steering wheel, she looked at Glenn who seemed both dejected and scared of her. Daisy smiled amusedly, "You're pretty hopeless, Glenn. You know that?"

He just looked back silently, the glint in his eyes looking like a hint of protest, but he said nothing. Daisy grinned back and flung an arm out to pat him amiably on the shoulder. Nudging the door open, Daisy slid out and scanned the surroundings, she heard Glen mumble something about how Dale was right behind her. She belatedly spotted three walkers milling around on the sidewalk a few dozen feet away and grimaced at her lack of awareness.

"There's three over there," she called quietly over to Glenn, looking back to see him nod as he shoved his door closed, she followed suit. Edging her knife from its position inadvisably hanging by her thigh from the belt loop of her jeans, Daisy gestured vaguely between Glenn and the rightmost walker.

"Uh, what?" Glenn asked with a confusion that Daisy fully understood.]

With a self-deprecating smirk, Daisy replied, "You get that one on the right, lead it into the street, and I'll get the one on the left."

"Won't they be fine...just, go past 'em. Leave 'em be?" He asked hopefully.

"No," Daisy contradicted him firmly, "Better safe than sorry." Shaking her head at his nonchalance concerning their safety—not minding her own lapse of awareness just a minute earlier. She began to walk towards the gathering of walkers, seeing Glenn to the same and wandering in an arc to the right. Feeling as though something was missing as the walkers began to take notice of their perceived dinner walking towards them, Daisy crouched slightly and raised her knife in front of her, poised to strike out at any sudden movements.

The walker she had picked as her target, a decidedly overweight older gentleman with a hanging beer belly and a generically plaid button-down, meandered in her direction to meet her halfway. Mentally praising the walker's cooperation in its own death, Daisy slashed her knife through the air and embedded it in the eye socket of the walker, its hot, putrid breath exhaling over her face as it stopped its languid movements and dropped to the ground. Her nose wrinkled from the smell and her eyes began to water, she looked up to see Glenn smoothly dispatching his walker with his knife and the third and final walker shuffling towards him on one functional leg.

As Glenn struck out at the last walker, Daisy decided that her knife was able to retire for the moment, so she swiped the blade over the walker's plaid shirt on either side to clean the dark red and black blood from it. Mentally picturing another lecture from Merle on how Daisy was seemingly incapable of proper knife-cleaning-practices, she scrubbed at it a little more firmly, removing the last sliver of decaying brain matter with a satisfied smile.

"All clean?" Glenn asked from where he had suddenly sidled up beside her, one eyebrow raised judgementally towards her.

"I don't appreciate the sass, Glenn. We'll see whose knife is cleaner and more efficient in the long run," she grumbled to herself, leaving the downed walkers and following the chuckling Glenn back towards the car, detouring to enter the pharmacy she had parked in front of.

"Hey, so, uh," Glenn started as the bell above the door twinkled as it was hit by its frame, Daisy's attention was drawn by the light sound and she cringed, Glenn cringing along with her, at their lack of foresight. Peeking into the store, around the row of shelves immediately in front of her, she searched the store for any sign of stirring, and listened for any echoing of moans from walkers drawn by the accidental sound.

"All good," Daisy decided.

Glenn sighed in relief that the bell had not signalled their imminent deaths, and smoothly shut the door behind them, being careful not to hit the bell again. He calmed himself and resumed his thought, "So, what you need is in the pharmacy?" He questioned, raising his brow questioningly.

Daisy stared at him with a deadpan, "Yes."

At her tilting her head towards the counter near the back of the store, Glenn took the hint and shuffled past her, leaving her to gather whatever supplies she had been mysteriously contracted to obtain. Studying the cardboard signs hanging off of the topmost shelves, she passed the aisles containing 'natural remedies' and 'allergy and hayfever medicine', landing warily in the aisle containing contraceptives. Dazedly wondering what Lori might give her in return for her valiant deed, Daisy examined the different emergency contraceptives, finally deciding on a friendly-looking, light blue box.

"Oh my god, are you pregnant?" Daisy tried really hard to be surprised as her eyes rolled to see Glenn standing by the condoms, a large box in his hand. His eyes were wide and his face was pale, before Daisy could explain he began to stutter, "Oh my god, oh my god. Who even...?" He trailed off, studying her up and down, "Did you Daryl...?" He raised one eyebrow and a smile began to spread across her face.

Daisy furrowed her brow and huffed a disbelieving laugh, "What, me and Daryl?" She vaguely waved the box in her hands, "In what world would we—?"

"I mean...he seems the likely... _candidate_." Daisy stared silently at him for a moment, not following his thought process at all. "You two hang out...you seem to be the only person other than Merle he tolerates..."

Daisy snorted, "Tolerates? Oh, how sexy...and we hang out? You mean, we skin tiny animals together."

Glenn twisted his mouth, "Well, I don't watch you two all the time. I don't know what you two... _crazy kids_ get up to in your spare time..." He trailed off suggestively.

Daisy barked a surprised laugh at his audacity, shaking her head and waving the pill box again, "They're not for me."

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'." Daisy smiled companionably at him, "Got your hopes up about Maggie again?" Glenn startled, looking confused. Daisy pointed wordlessly towards the massive box of condoms in his hand. He looked down and his eyes widened, in a flash the box was thrown off to the side, bouncing off the shelf opposite them and falling lamely to the ground with a quiet thud. Both Daisy and Glenn stared at the box, then Daisy scoffed in amusement and slipped the box of pills into her pocket, journeying past Glenn towards the back of the store to gather more supplies.

As she began to pilfer through the shelves, she glanced back to see that the box had mysteriously disappeared and Glenn was pilfering his own set of shelves, a pink blush spreading across his cheeks. She could see the outline of a moderately sized box inside his pack where the condom box had been shoved in haphazardly. Daisy shook her head and smiled at the bottle of cough medicine in her hand, wondering how the ridiculousness of life managed to survive the end of the world.

After their packs had been filled to the brim with supplies, they congregated at the front of the shop, each informing the other of their bounty. As Glenn was admitting to his stashing of a hefty supply of prophylactics, Daisy's gaze drifted to look out of the wide glass windows to survey the street outside.

With a strangled gasp, Daisy's hand shot out to the side to tug Glenn down into a crouch along with her as she realised that there was a group of at least two dozen walkers meandering in the street near them, a good percentage of them stalling between them and the truck.

"Hey, wh—" Glenn pouted and began to protest her rough handling of him, but he cut himself off with widened eyes as he followed Daisy's gaze to the frankly alarming mass of man-eating monsters outside. One of the walkers stuttered to a stop and turned its head to examine them through the window, then leant against it and mouthed at the glass, teeth clicking against it. Its rancid breath fogged the glass and black blood flicked against the barrier between them and it with its every exhale. A few tense moments of panicked silence passed them by, then Glenn continued pragmatically, "Well, we are fucked...just...really, completely fucked."


	35. Gratitude

**Chapter Thirty Five: Gratitude**

 _Gratitude: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness._

 **Day 71**

It had been an hour and the walkers had yet to move. Daisy peeked over the lip of the front window, and studied them with narrowed eyes; a particularly nasty walker scratched weakly at one of the others, a thick slab of skin slid off its shoulder and dropped to the ground with a sickening slap. Shuddering, Daisy ducked back down and twisted to rest her back against the wall. She gazed over at Glenn who was sitting cross-legged in the aisle in front of her, staring forlornly at his pack—likely envisioning the pack of condoms and the unlikeliness that he would get to use them if they did not find a way out of this mess.

Steeling her stomach and sighing harshly, Daisy turned around once more and peeked through the window. She studied the two dozen walkers as they stood around between the door to the pharmacy and their truck, cursing their coincidental lethargy that had apparently kicked in just in time to screw Daisy and Glenn over. Daisy tried to look on the bright side of things—the walkers had yet to acknowledge their presence in the store, and the other side of the truck was free and clear, no walkers were lingering in the street.

"We have to find another way out," she muttered distractedly, turning to try to find said exit.

Glenn startled at her words and came out of his day dreams, nodding his head in agreement, "Yes, yes...exactly. But, where is this other way out?"

Daisy thought for a moment and shrugged, "There's probably a staff exit in the back, into the street over, or an alley." She aimed one last look back at the walkers to confirm that they had not moved during the short time she had looked away—they hadn't, _the bastards_ , she grumbled mentally to herself, not willing to let this one act of unintentional compliance sway her to sympathise with them.

Picking her knife up from where it had ended up beside her, Daisy crouched and began to make her way through the aisle to the back of the pharmacy. After checking once more on the walkers, Daisy stood and pulled herself through the small window into the back room. She immediately spotted two doors, one with a sign declaring it to be the "employee bathroom." The other door was unlabelled, but Daisy recognised that it was likely the staff exit, she strode across the small room and twisted the handle, but met resistance. Jiggling the handle once more, she sighed exasperatedly as she realised it was locked.

There was a strangled moan behind her—Glenn had landed wrong on his slide across the counter. Daisy restrained her amused smile and informed him of their predicament. "You're strong," Glenn responded, seemingly apropos of nothing.

"Well, not really...but, your point?" Daisy squinted at him with suspicion.

"You can break the door down!" Glenn beamed, pleased with himself finding the answer to their problem. Daisy was not so pleased.

"What?" She sighed, "But, _no_...that seems like it could end in grievous injury." Daisy looked nervously around the tiny room, then looked at the door with consideration. She huffed and rolled her eyes, muttering to herself, "I could never break that, are you kidding."

Seeing no other option, she tried the knob of the bathroom door, and was pleased when it opened readily. She was considerably less pleased when she found herself suddenly on the ground, a growling and moaning dead man snapping at her from above. With a startled scream, Daisy swung her fist up towards the walker, giving an internal sigh of relief when she noted it was the fist with the knife clenched in its fingers; the blade swung true and embedded itself deep into the walkers skull with a loud crack.

"Oh, whoa...shit."

Daisy glared up at Glenn, who stood still with a surprised nonchalance that irked her, he had not moved an inch, "Thanks for the help, _Glenn_." She huffed and cringed away from the walker that had slumped down over her, promptly pushing her arms out and shoving it to the side. Sticking her hand up, Glenn thankfully took her hint and helped her up. Grimacing at the addition of some new blood stains to her black shirt—which had been striped with white before the dead started rising—she examined the bathroom and determined that the walker had no friends lurking within.

Stepping over the surprise walker, Daisy entered the bathroom and looked around: no windows. Daisy groaned deeply and leant back against the dirty tiled wall, beyond caring about stains. She kicked back with her heavy boot and dropped her head, her eyes landed on the walker. It had a white shirt hanging loose on its mottled shoulders over stretched-tight skin. This piqued her interest.

Daisy dropped down to her knees, wincing at the low thud, and took hold of the walker. Steeling her arms, she heaved it towards her, then turned it over. An embroidered nametag on his chest named him "Steve." _The same Steve that owns "Steve's Pharmacy_ , _"_ Daisy guessed. While reminding herself that Steve was long dead and this was a body, and did not want her to feel remorseful for it—did not want or feel anymore at all—she patted down its pockets.

"What are you doing?" An intrigued voice asked from somewhere above her, Daisy shot a glance towards Glenn, then moved on to the walker's pants.

She felt what she was looking for, "Aha!" and dug into the walker's pants, pulling out a ring of keys. Jingling them in the air, she shot a smile towards Glenn, "Keys to the door, likely! No impossible amount of force necessary!" Daisy got to her feet and approached the door, flicking through the keys. Trying the shiniest silver key, the doorknob twisted easily and she pulled it back towards her.

"Oh, thank god," Glenn said, passing her and leaving the store.

"Wh—" Daisy protested his lack of foresight—for all they knew, the alley was swarming with as many walkers as the street was— before giving up and leaving Glenn to look out for himself. She poked her head out after him and quickly looked both ways, determining it to be sufficiently safe after a moment. The rest of her body shuffled out, and she closed the door behind her, making sure that it did not close with a harsh slam.

"This way!" Daisy reminded Glenn in a harsh whisper, his pack slammed against his shoulder with the swift movement of his turn as he stared at her with wide eyes.

"Yep, yep! I knew that," Glenn smiled nervously, grasping at the straps of his pack and jogging slightly to backtrack, slowing to walk alongside her, "So, we'll be able to get to the truck," he said certainly. Daisy hummed in agreement, slowing as they came to the end of the alley, peering around the corner to see only a few walkers meandering around the side street. Determining them to be too far away and sluggish to be a threat, Daisy walked easily with Glenn down the side street and out onto the main street, spotting the congregation of walkers still standing by the truck on the sidewalk.

"Do you think we could sneak in through the open side?" Glenn supposed, gesturing vaguely to the majority of the street that was clear of walkers.

"That's the plan," Daisy said shortly, adjusting her fingers where they gripped her knife to hold it more securely. She started forward, walking swiftly and lowly, keeping her eyes on the walkers. A few who were lingering on the edge of the crowd swayed their heads, they looked as though they had caught a scent. Daisy was calmed somewhat by hearing Glenn walking closely behind her, they soon came close to the walkers.

The growling and moaning was growing louder as the group of walkers began to stir, the majority of them catching sight of Glenn and Daisy. As Daisy reached the truck, the walkers were starting to slump against the truck in an effort to reach them, some proving smarter and shuffling around the front and back of the truck.

"Go, go, go," Glenn muttered behind her, Daisy swiftly opened the passenger's side door, swinging it wide and shuffling into the cab on her knees. After a short struggle, Daisy fell into the driver's seat, her only casualty being the beginnings of a bruise on her backside from the gearstick getting in her way. She winced at the thudding of walkers hitting their faces against the window beside her and reached down to turn the keys where she had left them in the ignition.

The truck started in a heartbeat and Daisy praised her luck—not minding that said luck had failed her in initially keeping away walkers. One particularly heavy walker thudded its shoulder against her window and a loud crack sounded throughout the cab, Daisy's heart faltered in her chest. Not taking the time to look, Daisy shifted the gearstick into 'drive' and pressed her foot hard on the accelerator. Grimacing at the walkers gathered in front of the truck, Daisy slammed into them. Most of the walkers were nudged off to the side, but one walker landed on the road in front of the truck. There was a tense moment when the truck rose as it surmounted the walker's body, but both Daisy and Glenn breathed a sigh of relief as the truck continued on down the road.

"That was...close," Glenn said succinctly. Daisy sighed heavily and glanced to the side; the window had smashed near the centre, a long crack running either side of the smash to almost touch the borders.

"Too close."

 **Later**

Upon arriving back at the farm and dispersing the gathered supplies, Daisy pocketed Lori's pills and searched the yard for Lori herself. Almost immediately, Daisy spotted Lori sitting underneath a tree with Carol, Sophia and Carl. She started to move towards them, scratching at the dried blood that had made its way onto her cheek from the surprise walker attack—she thought that perhaps it would not be advisable to frighten the children by reminding them of the dangers the post-apocalyptic world held. Of course, if the world was going to stay like it was—which was a very real possibility—then they had to grow up sometime. But that was not Daisy's place to judge, thankfully.

"Are you okay?" A soft voice asked upon seeing her, Daisy gave Carol a thankful smile and a nod.

"Yeah, just...had a run in with a walker, Glenn and I are fine."

"Did you get...?" Lori trailed off, and gave Daisy an expectant look, eyes narrowed. Daisy turned her attention to Lori, feeling somewhat irked that she seemed entirely unconcerned with Daisy's well-being, despite the fact that Daisy was doing this favour for absolutely nothing in return. Supressing these feelings—remembering Rick's insistence that she be the better person with Shane and deciding to apply the same rule to Lori—Daisy nodded wordlessly. Lori smiled, "Oh, that's...thank you."

"Look," Daisy sighed, her heart stuttering in her chest as she looked around at Lori and Carol, then her gaze stopped on Carl and Sophia as they looked up with their wide smiles and trusting eyes. She turned her attention back to Lori, "You should tell him about..." Lori's face fell, she knew what Daisy was talking about.

"No, that's not...that's none of your business, Daisy." Lori said frankly, Daisy agreed but she could not help the spark of annoyance that flared at Lori's disregard of her husband.

"What's this about?" Carol asked with a hesitant smile, brow furrowing in concern for Lori, who seemed to be faltering in mild distress, staring at the grass by her feet with a clenched jaw.

Lori startled slightly and seemed to realise that they were not alone, "Oh, nothing," she said lightly, "I'll see you later, Daisy. I'll get that thing you got me...later," Lori spoke firmly, then widened her eyes marginally and quirked a tight smile.

Feeling utterly dismissed, Daisy scoffed under her breath and returned Lori's smile with an equivalent degree of tension, "Okay, see you later, then." Nodding towards Carol, Sophia and Carl, Daisy sidled off back towards the farmhouse. Daisy rolled her eyes to herself and patted the pocket of her jeans where she had stashed the pills, she could hear them rattle quietly and grimaced at the sound. Daisy had tried to suppress thoughts of what the pills were intended to do, but now that she had them in her possession, she could not help but realise that Lori was _pregnant_. She had a baby in her belly, Rick's baby—or Shane's, but Daisy did not want to think too much of that mess. A _baby_.

The queasy discomfort rising in Daisy's stomach meant nothing, however. It was Lori's choice, not Daisy's. Swallowing around her suddenly dry throat, Daisy spotted Rick and Shane standing by the truck, studying something spread out on its hood. A creeping wish to tell Rick of what Lori intended to do came over Daisy, but Daisy battered it down. _Not my place_ , she asserted, scratching again at the dried blood on her cheek. Still, that did not make her feel any better, or any less like she was betraying Rick, who had been the one to stick with her in the new world. Daisy was not certain of what she would do, she just hoped that Lori would get her head out of her ass and tell Rick the truth, before Daisy did something rash; he deserved to know.


	36. Confide

**Chapter Thirty Six: Confide**

 _Confide: tell someone about a secret or private matter while trusting them not to repeat it to others._

 **Day 71**

It had been a surprisingly long day for Daisy, with her and Glenn's quest to the pharmacy going slightly awry in that they were obstructed by a gaggle of walkers. But, as the Daisy had come to expect from the Greene farm, the night ended quietly and calmly huddled in a sleeping bag, inching warily towards uncomfortably cold but not quite crossing the line. Being that the night was slightly colder than usual, Daisy had thought it prudent to open the bottle of Pappy she had found in a likely overpriced SUV on the highway some days previously.

Despite her vehemence that Merle would not be given a lick of the alcohol she had lifted from the car for his lecherous tendencies, Daisy found herself sharing said bottle of Pappy with both Dixon brothers, as well as her tent-mate, Amy. It was rather cosy in the two-person tent, but Daisy could not find it within herself to care; she was curled comfortably in her sleeping bag, Amy was curled similarly in her own, and the Dixon brothers were spread out in the remaining quarters.

"I don't think I've ever met anyone who couldn't name an AC/DC song..." Merle scoffed at Amy, taking a hefty swig of the bourbon. Daisy rolled her eyes, they were barely visible where they peeked over the lip of the sleeping bag, but Merle still managed to notice and shoot her a specified sneer, taking another, longer swig as if to spite her.

"Well...I've never met anyone who couldn't name a Bieber song, so...I s'pose we're even," Amy countered.

"Beaver?" Daryl asked, his eyes squinted with suspicion. Daisy snorted a laugh into her elbow and shook her head, curls falling over her forehead.

"Don't even worry about it," Daisy told the two confused Dixon brothers, wholly willing to spare them of Justin Bieber. She slithered a hand out of her sleeping bag and wiggled her fingers in Merle's general direction, he took the hint and passed over the bottle. Nose already wrinkled in anticipation, Daisy sat up and placed her lips around the lip of the bottle, tipping it up to take the barest sip of bourbon. Daisy had never been able to drink hard liquor without a full-body cringe, as was evidenced by the way her head ducked further down into her sleeping bag and her eyes and nose scrunched further closed.

"You sure you can handle that?" Merle asked with suspicion, reaching a hand out to take it back, a small flicker of fear for the safety of the alcohol within. Daisy sighed and shivered, relenting the bottle without a fight.

"That tastes like absolute shit..." Daisy sighed forlornly, wanting to enjoy herself in intoxication, but not quite able to resolve drinking something that disgusted her to her core. _What I wouldn't give for a cider..._

"Can I have some?" Amy asked perkily, Daisy smiled towards her and examined her thoughtfully.

Merle rasped a laugh, "Go for it, dolly...see if you got bigger balls than Daisy here." Daisy shot him a half-hearted glare—admitting to herself that it was one of the tamest offensive things she had heard him speak—but watched along with him and Daryl as Amy took hold of the bottle. Without grandeur, Amy took a hefty swig, swallowing with a tiny, hoarse cough. Merle gave an impressed hum, "You been holdin' out on us?"

Amy smiled brightly, "Dad gave me my first drink when I was sixteen...he used share his bourbon with Andrea and me sometimes." She dampened at mentioning her sister, but Daisy considered herself lucky that Amy did not burst into tears—both knowing her own limitations in comforting people and wanting Amy to be accepting of life without her sister.

"Didn't expect that," Merle mumbled to himself, Amy passed him the Pappy and sat back, seeming pleased with herself. He took a gulp of alcohol, Daisy felt wary for his lack of a mixer, but had some hope that he would get absolutely blind drunk. Another gulp, Daisy's hope dwindled slightly more.

 **Later**

Daisy sniffled lightly, the sound was quiet, accompanied by only the high whistling of the crickets in the field outside. She crunched a pair of hot Cheetos between her teeth, and stretched her legs out over where they had landed on Amy's lap. The tent was more cramped than Daisy would have liked, but she did not particularly wish to carry out an absolutely blind drunk Merle and a slightly-less-but-still-considerably drunk Daryl.

"Daisy?" A hushed whisper sounded from just outside the door to her tent, she lazily flicked her eyes towards the zipper, but could obviously not see through the opaque material.

"Enter," Daisy said with a tired yawn, the zip opened and a head poked through: Lori. Daisy narrowed her eyes as Lori shone a dim torchlight into the tent, her head thumped in protest. Barely restraining her nose from wrinkling in annoyance—it was too late for Lori 'Drama-Magnet' Grimes to be poking around Daisy's tent—she tried to convey an inquisition by raising her brow. Lori was not looking in her direction, however, instead choosing to survey the multiple persons passed out around Daisy. Not caring for the disdainful narrowing of Lori's eyes, Daisy shook her head in an effort to wake herself up a bit more, then wiggled closer to the edge of her cot.

Wiggling a bit too far, Daisy fell the few inches off her cot onto the uneven floor of the tent, groaning lightly as a particularly unforgiving rock dug into her side. She lifted her weight off said rock and brought her bag closer to rummage through, after a solid minute of searching in the dark of the night—with Lori's torchlight positioned unhelpfully to focus on Merle's snoring face—Daisy located the rattling box of morning-after pills. Taking a moment to breathe a victorious sigh of relief, Daisy threw the box unceremoniously over her shoulder. Her projectile landed true, with Lori huffing a quiet, "Ow." Daisy mumbled a vague farewell, then rested her heavy head on her arm, directing her pleased smile into her elbow.

"That was necessary..." Lori muttered sarcastically to herself, Daisy did not look up until she heard the zip of the tent door as well as Lori's retreating steps. Now that the whole _Lori-is-pregnant-with-either-her-husband-or-her-husband's-best-friend's-baby_ debacle was finally over, Daisy could get some much-needed rest.

"Th' hell was that about?"

 _Or not_ , Daisy thought to herself, opening one eye a sliver to peer at Daryl, who was the owner of the unexpected, grumpy voice.

"What was what about?" Daisy asked innocently, opening her other eye to widen both further, hoping to emphasise her supposed innocence. Daryl did not elaborate, and simply raised an eyebrow that silently called Daisy on her bullshit. She sighed grudgingly, tired of keeping secrets, "Lori wanted me to get something at the pharmacy."

Through the darkness of the tent, Daisy could only just see Daryl squint his eyes in confusion, "What...she got worms or something? Ain't nothin' to be embarrassed about."

Daisy snorted a laugh into her hand, beside her she could see Amy stir lightly but settle after a moment of her silence, "No...promise not to tell anyone?" She looked up at Daryl hopefully. He said nothing, and just nodded lightly, "Say it..."

Daryl scoffed, but said with none-too-small reluctance, "Fine...I promise I won't tell anyone. Hell, only person who'd listen to me would be Merle, and he don't give two shits about none'a ya'll." Daisy wordlessly agreed with his sentiment, and felt better about betraying Lori's trust—though Daisy was not entirely sure why she felt bad in the first place, as Lori had never really given Daisy cause not to do so besides common decency.

"Lori's pregnant," Daisy said abruptly, "She wanted to have an abortion, so I got her some pills." Daryl raised his brows and pursed his lips.

"Shit," he said simply. Daisy hummed in agreement. Daryl thought for a moment, "Is it Shane's, then?" Daisy startled at his further questioning, seemingly impressed at his coming to the same conclusion as she had.

"I think it might be..." Daisy admitted, grimacing as she realised what that meant for poor Rick, "Not that it really matters, even if she wasn't going to get rid of it. Shane doesn't seem the type to step up and take responsibility for his spawn..." Daryl grunted vaguely in the affirmative.

There was a longer silence, Daisy used it to wriggle her way back onto her cot, she scratched an itch on the back of her head and prayed to whoever would listen that bugs had not crept into her tent and laid eggs in her hair. Then she wrinkled her nose at the thought and internally ordered herself to go to sleep—it seemed she overanalysed the itches on her body when she was low on energy. Daisy looked over and saw that Daryl had rearranged himself to lay down, and his eyes were closed. She followed suit and closed her own eyes, feeling lighter than she had since yesterday morning when Lori dropped her pregnancy bomb, glad that she had decided to tell Daryl—knowing that he would not care enough to tell anyone else.

 **Day 72**

Restraining a groan, Daisy stretched her legs out in front of her, cringing at the feeling of the long grass against her bare skin, wishing that she had her jeans on and not her sleep shorts. A vague voice off to the side said her name and she held her hand aloft, eyes remaining closed against the heat of the rising sun. Her fingers closed against a warm mug, she blinked her eyes open and smiled up at Carol in thanks, bringing the mug back towards her to take a sip.

The coffee ran down her throat and seemed to warm her soul, Daisy groaned lightly in happiness and sighed. A light cough drew her attention, Carl stood in front of her chair, and he tapped his foot against hers with a smile. She took his hint and drew her feet back to let him through. Daisy took another sip and studied Carl as he walked past, he had Rick's sheriff hat sitting askew on the top of his head.

"Sweet hat," Daisy croaked around a yawn, shooting Carl an enthusiastic thumbs up when he looked over at her. She smiled around her next sip as he snorted and returned her gesture.

"Uh, guys...I have an announcement..." The group gathered around the unlit campfire glared over to the loud voice, Glenn stood there nervously looking around at the various faces, "There's walkers in the barn." Daisy lamented the few minutes since her waking that her life had been rumour free.

"What?" Shane's outraged voice rose above the rabble of the others, Daisy remained silent. She sank back into her chair, her eyes rolling skyward.

"Whoa, whoa," Rick spoke up, raising his arms in an attempt to calm them all. He sighed, sounding extremely exasperated, Rick rubbed his fingers under his eyes and sighed again, "How do you know this, Glenn?"

"Uh...I saw them...I'm not supposed to tell." Glenn winced, grimacing lightly, "But...I did, obviously. I just, it's not very safe with the baby on the way and all..."

"What? What baby?" Amy asked quietly, furrowing her brow in Glenn's direction. He looked strikingly similar to a deer in headlights, Daisy stopped herself from slapping her hand against her forehead just in time.

"Uh...never mind. I was just—it was an error in...I meant, the baby rabbits, hanging around. They're too cute to be in the way of harm." Glenn smiled hopefully, but it dropped as soon as he took in the disbelieving looks featured on each and every face surrounding him.

Daisy glanced over towards Rick, who seemed entirely defeated, with purple bruises under his eyes that spoke of a long and restless night. He also seemed entirely unsurprised—Daisy assumed that Lori had told him, and felt grateful that at least Rick had not been accidentally told by Glenn in front of the entire group first thing on a Sunday. Well, Daisy did not know it was a Sunday—it being the apocalypse and all—but it certainly had felt like one before Glenn dropped the second bombshell and in so many days for Daisy.

"I'm pregnant," Lori said quietly, the group simultaneously turned to stare at her, all of them with expressions of shock, including Glenn who had not been told exactly who in their group was expecting. Daisy studied Lori and decided that she had spoken in a way that led her to believe that Lori had decided to keep the baby. Though this could be considered good news, it spoke of more trouble, with babies tending to be loud and squalling—not exactly good when one was hiding from walkers drawn mostly by noise. Daisy sighed a final time and took another sip of her coffee, grimacing at its quickly cooling temperature, and longed for a time when she considered an inconvenience such as cold coffee the worst part of her average day.


	37. Outburst

**Chapter Thirty Seven: Outburst**

 _Outburst: a sudden release of strong emotion._

 **Day 72**

"Hold up!" The group's attention was caught by Shane, who had stood from where he had been leaning casually against a nearby tree. Daisy noticed that Lori in particular seemed frightful of his outburst—further supporting her being almost-positive the baby was his. Shane continued, "There's walkers in the barn?" Daisy startled at the reminder, as did the rest of the group who had forgotten that Glenn had confessed that the barn was full of walkers in the wake of the annoyingly exciting baby-drama.

Shane had begun to pace back and forth behind the chairs gathered around the fire pit, shooting wary glares over towards where the barn was sitting innocently in the distance. He stopped and clenched his jaw, eyes flashing, "We gotta do something about that...specially with the—" Shane cut himself off as he gestured vaguely in Lori's direction. He grimaced, likely at the reminder of that whole mess, and suddenly took off towards where the pick-up was parked.

Daisy still held her coffee cup in hand, it was thankfully drained of all the cooling coffee—she had managed to keep down all of it, not able to reconcile herself with wastefulness in this new world—she stared after him with worry, though not enough to make her stir from her chair. Those with significantly more initiative—read: Rick and Lori—followed after Shane, speaking calming platitudes and enquiring as to why he was storming off in the direction of their makeshift armoury. At remembering that the majority of the guns and ammunition were in fact stored in the pick-up, at the behest of Hershel, Daisy felt some trepidation. To say the least, Shane was a bit of a hothead, and live rounds did not make that situation any better.

With a groan, Daisy set her coffee cup down beside her feet and bent down to pull her heavy work-boots closer. She lifted the tongue out of the right shoe and shoved her socked foot in, then began to lace up the shoe in preparation for the confrontation that was likely to happen. Daisy prided herself on her ability to defend herself from more docile assailants—that is, walkers—and decided that she could make herself useful by preparing to help pacify Shane if it came to that.

As Daisy was tying the bow on her second shoe, Shane came barrelling back towards where the group was gathered, shotgun in hand. Many members of the group protested as he passed them by, clearly heading for the barn full of walkers.

"Hey, Shane! You can't do this—it isn't our decision what Hershel does with his barn!" Rick called after his best friend, passing the group by to catch up with him. Daisy followed behind the others as they began to follow the action with wariness clouding their eyes.

"The hell it ain't!" Shane yelled back, snarling back at Rick.

A squeaking groan and a crash caught Daisy's attention, she spared her gaze towards where the sound had erupted to see Hershel himself storming out of his house, closely followed by his daughters and Patricia. Ahead of them, Daisy could see Shane come to a stop in front of the doors to the barn, then aim his shotgun at the heavy chain lock holding them together.

"Shane, don't—!" Rick exclaimed, he was interrupted by the sharp crack of a shotgun blast, Shane had blown the lock off of the doors, "Shane, don't you open those doors!" The group came to a halt a dozen feet away, Daisy glanced warily between Shane and Rick, as the former began tearing the chain from the doors.

"Boy, you better listen to him!" Hershel said firmly, slightly huffing as he came to a stop by the group, glancing fearfully at the doors and not coming any closer to them than he had to.

"Shit...guy's gone crazy," Merle mumbled from where he was meandering near the back of the gathering, a gleeful sneer spread across his face. Beside him, Daryl threw out a punch and hit him soundly on the shoulder, "Hey!"

"No!" Shane roared as he turned back to face the others, the barn doors drifted open behind him under the stress of the groaning walkers inside, "These walkers—they're dead! They are _not_ gonna miraculously take a turn for the _fuckin'_ better! They're a threat to us, to you—!" Shane pointed at Hershel, Maggie, Beth and Patricia with wide, almost crazed eyes. He took a deep breath as he dropped his finger, glancing back to see that the walkers had begun to spill out of the barn. Shane held his shotgun with both hands and aimed at them as he backed away, speaking quietly and certainly, "They need to be put down."

"Get ready, people," Rick called out with a disappointed huff directed in Shane's direction, but he did not seem to care as he directed another gunshot towards the tumble of walkers spilling out of the open doors of the barn.

Daisy sighed and steeled herself as she pulled her knife out of her belt loop—she really had to think of a better solution for the storage of her deadly weapon. She looked around to see the others doing much the same, with a few herding the children away from the danger.

As the walkers began to amble towards their food, shuffling to fan out left to include Hershel and his group in their slothful attack. Daisy moved forward to catch up to the rightmost walker, she threw out her arm and caught it in the back of the head with the tip of her knife. It fell with one last growl, which attracted the attention of two other walkers. Daisy stuttered slightly as her knife caught in the skull of the walker she had killed, she crouched down to push against the neck of the walker with the sole of her boot, using an amount of force that was _perhaps_ too great and sent her flying backwards to fall on her backside.

"Daisy!" She heard Glenn cry, Daisy shuffled away from the reaching walkers and got to her feet hurriedly with a grimace at her incompetence. She swung sharply with her knife and caught the second walker in the eye, the knife slid out without resistance. Backing up a few feet, Daisy took in the rest of the group, most of whom were dispatching walkers as she was. She noticed that Beth was struggling in her sister's arms, crying out for one of the walkers, a brown-haired woman who was walking slowly towards the screaming girl.

The walker in front of Daisy swiped with clawed fingers in her direction, she hurriedly ducked out of the way and focused on it again, her knife raised to swing again. Daisy struck the walker on its forehead, a deep gash opened and oozed darkened blood, but the walker remained standing. Its jaw was hanging loose, snapping weakly at her with a resounding moan. Looking around, Daisy saw that most of the walkers had fallen, Daisy's swiped with her knife one last time and a loud crack sounded as it embedded in its skull.

Daisy calmed significantly, and wiped the sweat off her brow with her shirt sleeve. She re-joined the group, inadvisably flicking her knife to rid the blood from it, instead staining the grass below their feet—she took care to hold it tightly and flick away from the people beside her.

"My mom! My—" Daisy finally made out what Beth was crying out, the walker that was apparently once her mother the only walker still standing, restrained only by Rick's hand precariously holding its shoulder.

"Th'fuck? Kill it, why don't you? Already dead, dumb-shit..." Merle muttered beside Daisy, his shirt pulled up fractionally to wipe at his own knife, significantly larger and more blood-stained than Daisy's—she took the time and mental effort to commend Merle on his increasing tact, knowing that he could have easily killed Beth's mother himself with genuine pleasure.

"Her stomach is clean ripped open, Hershel!" Shane said loudly and emphatically, pointing his shotgun at the entrails that were spilling out of Hershel's wife's stomach, "If she _is_ alive...then keepin' her like this is _torture_ —she don't want this."

Beth's cries became louder, and Daisy saw a moment of pure heartbreak in Hershel's eyes, as he looked between his devastated daughter and the woman he had likely loved for as long as Beth had been alive. Seemingly beyond reason, Shane lifted his shotgun once more and cocked it, stopping only to shoot one last dirty look at Hershel. He fired a shot point-blank at the back of the walker's head, splattering rotting brain matter and infected blood everywhere—most of the mess landing on the faces of Beth and Maggie, both flinched at the sound.

An agonised groan wrenched itself from Beth's throat and she ripped her arms from Maggie's stabilising grip, she fell forward and buried her face in her mother's chest, gripping at her shirt with shaking fingers. Daisy balked at the sight and felt incredibly like an intruder; upon glancing at Hershel's stony disposition, she thought that this might have been an accurate descriptor for Daisy and her group at that moment. That safety and happiness that she had felt on the few days they lived at the Greene family farm had evaporated in a matter of minutes, destroyed by the actions of one man—Shane.

The world seemed quiet, the only sounds one could hear was the tired crying of Beth and the muted whimpering of Carl and Sophia in the background, their faces buried in their respective mothers' shirts. Daisy had a sudden yearning for her own mother, but quickly tampered that down when she realised that, as far as she knew, her mother had not been one of those who survived the initial surge of walkers, let alone the following weeks.

"I want all of you off my property, today," Hershel said, his voice weak with emotion. Daisy was not surprised, she had assumed that much would result from Shane's outburst.

"Yeah," Rick sighed, turning his back on Shane and joining his family in their huddle.

"Ugh, this is bullshit," Merle grumbled, he began to trudge away, back to the camp. The crowd began to follow his lead and swiftly dispersed, leaving Daisy and Daryl standing awkwardly beside Hershel and his family.

"You, uh, want help with the..." Daryl spoke up unexpectedly, gesturing towards the body of Hershel's deceased wife, whom Beth was still clutching despite Maggie's continued attempts to pry her fingers from it. Hershel looked up from his daughters over at Daryl with scrutinising eyes, he seemed to decide that Daryl did not contribute to Shane's decision to infiltrate the barn.

"That would be nice, son." Hershel gave a long sigh and walked forward to place a comforting hand on Beth's shoulder.

Daryl shot Daisy an inquiring look, she thought for a moment, "Wanna get the truck? To carry the..." Daisy suggested. Daryl nodded silently and stalked off in the direction of the truck. _He continues to be a man of few words_ , Daisy noted to herself as she stumbled through the dozen or so walkers to determine a plan to get rid of the bodies.

As Hershel and Maggie finally convinced Beth to let go of her mother, Hershel shooting Daisy a thankful—yet unbearably solemn—smile, Daisy decided to do as they had when the walkers had attacked at the quarry. That is, they would burn the bodies of the walkers to eradicate any chance of post-mortem infection, and bury any people that used to belong to Hershel's family. Though Daisy subscribed to the idea that cremation was equally acceptable as burial for loved ones, especially in a world where infected bodies might affect the living, she understood that others might not think along the same lines.

In the distance, Daisy saw that Daryl was driving the truck her way, and prepared herself for a day of dragging, burning and burying dead bodies—she pitied past Daisy, who had thought future Daisy would be snuggled by a camp fire with a second mug of hot coffee by that point in time. Daisy tried to find the good in the situation, but could only note that it was early enough that the sun was not yet smouldering high in the sky. _It will be in an hour though_ , Daisy thought bitterly, lamenting the fact that finding the good in a massacre of walkers was not exactly a possible feat.


	38. Ramen

**Chapter Thirty Eight: Ramen**

 _Ramen: quick-cooking noodles, typically served in a broth with meat and vegetables._

 **Day 72**

The sun was hanging heavy and low in the sky as they all stood by two consecutive holes in the ground, a green-leaved tree stood tall beyond the holes, casting flickering shadows over the dirt. Daisy scratched at the dirt that had embedded itself resolutely under her short nails, and stared quietly as Rick and T-Dog lowered the second sheet-wrapped body into its grave. Hershel's wife and her son had been in the barn—Daisy and Daryl had not been told of the latter's being there, and had to dig him out of the pile of unknown walkers. That had not been a pleasant experience, Hershel having to look upon the decaying faces of dozens of walkers to find Shawn, and even then, the dirt, blood and grime on his face had made it incredibly hard to be certain it was really him.

Closer to the fence, where the tree's branches hung at their lowest and brushed against the faded paint that covered the fence, two more graves marked the resting places of Otis and Jimmy. Daisy glanced over at Hershel, Patricia, Maggie and Beth, and reflected on how much they had lost. Half of their number had been lost, two of those losses in the last couple of days. She was almost grateful that she did not know the fate of her own family—they could be safe and sound up in sunny LA for all she knew. Daisy half-heartedly noted that they could also be dead...either in the ground or stumbling around as walkers. _Perhaps it would be better to know_ , Daisy corrected herself with an upset grimace.

"Would...anybody like to say something?" Rick spoke suddenly, staring at Hershel with an expectant look.

There was a breathy sob from Beth, who promptly slid from her sister's grip to stumble forward. She looked down into her mother's grave with shaky hands gripping at the hem of her shirt. Tears were steadily streaming down Beth's face, she hurriedly wiped them away and shot one last, slightly angered glare down at the grave and then walked off towards the house, her head bowed and her shoulders shaking. Maggie followed after her sister, concern furrowing her brow, and the group wallowed in their silence.

Hershel walked forward a pace, and stared wearily between the graves of his wife and step-son, then the too fresh graves of Jimmy and Otis, "'There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die...'" he trailed off with a tired sigh, and raised his hand in an aborted gesture, laying it on his chest where it gripped at his shirt with tired fingers. Hershel turned to glance between the miserable faces of the group, then followed after his daughters.

Without waiting for another beat, Daryl trudged forward and picked up his shovel where it had been abandoned between the two once-empty graves. Daisy followed his lead and picked up her own, drifting around the open hole towards the dirt piled high beside it, and began to shovel it over to lay over Annette Greene's body.

"How about we go rest in the RV?" Carol's soft voice drifted over the remaining group, she led Sophia and Carl away, Lori following after gratefully. Daisy dug her shovel deep into the dirt with a grunt, and directed her bounty into the grave, looking up towards the others as she wiped the sweat from her brow—it had not left from when she and Daryl had dug the graves half an hour earlier. She did not exactly know why she had taken the mantle of grave digger for the day—being of low arm strength, especially compared to some of the others. The group began to disperse, until only Shane and Rick lingered by Daisy and Daryl as they filled the graves.

"I'll...do that, Dais'. Least I could do..." Shane drawled, Daisy looked up with narrowed eyes to see him staring down at the grave with a guilty grimace. _Good_ , Daisy thought as she dug her shovel upright into the ground. She leant her elbow against the handle of the shovel and stared at Shane silently, catching his gaze awkwardly.

"Okay," Daisy said abruptly, and backed away from the shovel, she saw that Rick had similarly commandeered Daryl's shovel. Shane stepped forward and pulled the shovel out from the divot she had made in the ground, nodding respectfully to her and beginning to move the dirt. Daisy noted with jealousy that he was filling the grave with a significantly higher amount of competence than she had been, but admitted that she would be more efficient if she was a veritable giant.

"Want some ramen?" Daisy asked quietly as she and Daryl drifted away from Rick and Shane towards the campsite.

Daryl squinted at her for a moment, then rubbed at the back of his neck, "Sure, I guess." Daisy smiled up at him and nodded to herself, pleased. She walked towards her tent and unzipped it with a wide gesture, then shuffled forward on her knees until she could reach her backpack. Ruffling around inside, she surfaced two of the packs of ramen she had gathered from the highway, along with the tiny bottle of Sriracha as an afterthought, and shoved them into the pocket of her jacket. Daisy left her tent and zipped it back up to dissuade any sieges by bug, and met with Daryl back by the campfire.

She noticed that Amy was limply strewn over a camp chair, nose buried in a Robert Ludlum novel, brow furrowed in either confusion or disgust at whatever she was reading. Daisy decided to be generous, "Wanna share some ramen, Amy?" Amy looked up from her book, her eyes widened in excitement.

"Yeah, sure...you need a pot?" Amy asked excitedly, her book knocked off her lap as she hurriedly stood, it fell onto the dirt with a thump. She moved without Daisy's answer towards where the RV was parked nearby. Daisy pulled the pack up and she noted the microwave instructions on the back—and briefly lamented the lack of microwaves in this new world. Amy soon returned with a heavy metal pot, which she placed in the tripod contraction to hang above the fire, dropping it with a short grunt.

"Hey..." Daisy spoke up, glancing between the hanging pot and the packets of ramen in her hands, "Daryl, wanna light the fire?" She looked up at him with a hopeful smile, and noticed that he had already been reaching for the matches. Daisy searched her mind—which was disparagingly dulled from the upsetting events of the day—for the final ingredient in the incredibly complicated process that was making cheap ramen. _Water_ , she thought with her eyes rolling skyward at the amount of time she had taken to realise that.

"I'll get some water from the house...d'you think they'd be okay with that?" Daisy mumbled with her brow furrowed in concern, Amy stared back thoughtfully.

"Yeah...yeah, I think so, go for it."

Daisy huffed a calming breath and stood, looking over at the Greene farm house that sat nearby. On the porch she could see Maggie sitting on a slowly rocking chair, staring listlessly ahead of her. Daisy nodded her head once as if to assert herself as a neighbourly friend seeking after some water—they had multiple wells at the farm, more than enough water to go around. To the side, Daisy saw Rick and Shane talking quietly as they continued to fill the graves, both seemed moderately angry. Daisy considered herself very lucky to not be a part of that shitstorm, baby drama may well be the very worst form of drama.

"Daisy?" A Southern, drawling voice called over as she approached the house, Daisy shot a sheepish smile up at Maggie who leaned forward with her elbows resting against her knees. A soft, sad smile returned Daisy's own awkward iteration, Maggie waved her up onto the porch. Daisy hurried up the steps and sat heavily on the kitchen chair that had been moved beside the rocking chair, and pulled her arms tightly around her.

"Are you, okay? Your sister okay?" Daisy asked suddenly, Maggie quirked her smile and squinted her eyes against the harsh sun. She sighed and rocked her chair back, and pulled her legs up to wrap her arms around them.

"I'm okay...Beth, not so much," Maggie replied, glancing sadly over at Daisy, "Daddy had her thinking she might get her mom back. It's as though she's lost her all over again."

Daisy gulped nervously, "That's terrible, I'm sorry. I'm...sorry for what Shane did."

"It wasn't your fault...people like him, real hard to keep 'em contained." Maggie stretched her toes up, and rested her chin against her knees, she continued, "I'm sorry for Daddy kicking you out..."

"Oh...yeah, that's...deserved," Daisy admitted, glancing disappointedly over at Shane, who had finished off the grave and was wiping his sweaty face with the hem of his shirt. Daisy furrowed her brow as she realised something, "What's gonna happen with you and Glenn? Is that...still happening?"

Maggie's smile lilted up, her eyes crinkling with a flicker of happiness, "Yeah...we're together, still. He's real sweet, bit of a dork." She huffed a laugh, then her smile turned sad once more, "I don't know what's gonna happen when you all leave. If Daddy even knew about me and Glenn..." Maggie stared over at Daisy with a helplessness that made Daisy want to promise her a long and happy life with Glenn, but felt at a loss as to how she would actually do that.

"Do you see any world where your dad would let us stay?" Daisy asked with a sliver of desperation leaking regretfully into her tone. Maggie broke their gaze and stared back out into the middle distance with a long sigh.

"Maybe if Shane leaves..." Maggie suggested, she grimaced, "Daddy was real mad that he didn't respect his beliefs, and killed all the walkers." Daisy thought on that prospect and decided that she would certainly not beg Shane to stay if he left the farm. But, upon glancing over at Shane and seeing that he had moved to speak with an angry Lori, Daisy did not think that was likely to happen—him being the likely father of Lori's unborn child and all. She sat back in her chair with a sigh and thought unequivocally, _life is complicated_.

"Do you have any water?" Daisy asked suddenly, Maggie glanced over curiously.

"Yeah, we do, _indeed_ , have water," Maggie said with a smile smoothing her worried face, her words light in implicit enquiry as to why exactly Daisy had asked such a thing.

"We have a lot of ramen," Daisy explained ineffectively, she looked back down at the camp to see that the others had begun to congregate there. She backtracked, "I think we're having a post-memorial dinner...really _going all out_ with our large quantity of ramen." Daisy nodded thoughtfully, supposing that even something that was once so cheap and readily available as ramen could be seen as utterly desirable in a world where game meat was considered an elusive luxury.

"Ramen?" Maggie followed her line of sight to look upon the campfire that was blazing with orange flames, Glenn hurriedly pulled the heavy pot from its tripod, likely upon realising that the water and ramen must first be placed inside before beginning the cooking process.

"Yeah, ramen..." Daisy confirmed unnecessarily, she watched as Maggie stared at Glenn with lovable fondness clear upon her face and fell in love with them as a couple a fraction more, "Want to join us? You can bring Beth, too...and, well, I'd say bring your dad but I don't think he likes us as of recent events."

"An understatement," Maggie said, "I'll see if Beth wants to come...and you can go right ahead and get some water from the kitchen tap."

Daisy shot Maggie a grateful smile and stood from her chair, then followed her into the house. As Maggie scaled the nearby stairs in search of her sister, Daisy slid into the kitchen and searched the cupboards immediately to her left for a container in which to carry the water she had come for—her expected lack of foresight still caused her a small amount of pain and annoyance, it was not so hard to realise that water cannot be moved without a jug or dish of some sort. She spied a bright yellow jug with accompanying lid, and carried it over to the sink.

The tap flipped up without incident and Daisy began to fill the jug, staring out the kitchen window to see Carl and Sophia whispering amongst themselves conspiringly. Daisy leaned over to see more clearly under the lace curtain on the window and saw that they had a small, yellow puff held between them. She flipped the tap back off and held the full jug to her chest, and contemplated telling on the children. Ultimately, Daisy decided that in the wake of the somewhat incredibly horrifying events of the morning, Carl and Sophia could have their fun with what seemed to Daisy to be a baby chicken—in any case, it was quite unlikely they would manage to harm the chick to an unforgiveable extent.


	39. Sister

**Chapter Thirty Nine: Sister**

 _Sister: a woman or girl in relation to other daughters and sons of her parents._

 **Day 72**

It was a suspiciously relaxed and casual night after Hershel's wife and step-son were buried—suspicious because Daisy had finally come to accept that anything as good as a contented night spent with the group eating prodigious amounts of ramen was likely to have a caveat. That caveat came in the form of Maggie Green, who had joined them in their post-memorial dinner. She had meandered back to the farmhouse to try one last time to convince Beth to emerge from her room and join too, but had returned to stand by the blazing campfire sans Beth, her face fallen with upset and worry.

"Daddy's gone," Maggie said simply, her jaw clenched in barely restrained anger for her father's missing state, "Patricia didn't notice him gone; she was with Beth." The pleasant atmosphere began to leave them once more, the quiet mumbling of a half dozen conversations dissipating along with it as they recognised her silent request for help.

"He can't have gone far," Glenn said, jumping up determinedly, staring around at the still faces of the others, "We'll go into town and get him?"

"This the same guy who's kickin' us out on our asses on the _morrow_?" Merle asked with disbelief, staring at Maggie through critical eyes. Maggie spared Merle a nod of slight confusion, then looked towards those who were more accepting of her plight. Merle snorted and leant back in his camp chair with a long sigh, "Just don't see why this is our problem, Girlie...he chose to not help us, now I'm gonna choose to not help him." Maggie tried to ignore him and continued to gaze at Glenn with pleading eyes.

"Well, uh..." Glenn stuttered, stalling slightly as he tried to reason with Merle—whom most of the group seemed to be silently agreeing with.

"Ain't you all s'posed to be the better people?" Daryl suddenly interjected, he spat discouragingly at the ground beside him and then narrowed his eyes at the rest of the group, "...and help them anyway? I'll go with Glenn." He moved forward and adjusted his crossbow where it hung on his back, moving past them towards the cars.

All stared after him, none more surprised than Glenn and Maggie. A rasping breath escaped Maggie as she glanced worriedly back towards the house. Her head darted towards the group, and she caught Daisy's startled gaze, "Look after Beth!" Maggie ordered, Daisy's eyes widened and she nodded in agreement, not thinking to protest on the grounds that she had never been the best at comforting any despondent individual—including Maggie herself not even an hour earlier.

Obviously not wishing to allow Daryl time to reconsider, Maggie and Glenn hurried after him, the latter pausing only to shoot an enquiring look towards their apparent leader, Rick. At Rick's nod of approval over their quest, Glenn caught up to Maggie with a short sprint, and the three climbed into the ramshackle truck, and left without further hesitation.

The remainder of the group remained in their stupor for only a short time, then returned to their bowls of ramen, the taste significantly soured at having to worry over Glenn, Maggie and Daryl as they journeyed to retrieve Hershel. Daisy set her empty bowl down beside her and glanced warily at Merle, who was sitting in the camp chair adjacent to hers. He felt her stare and returned it just as warily—though this was considerably more alarming for a person of Merle's unruliness.

"Didn't know the fucker had it in him," Merle said lightly, an amused snarl curling his lip. He took a long gulp of the cheap beer he had managed to find after a half hour of scouring the supplies.

"What? To genuinely want to help someone?" Daisy asked, her own amusement significantly lighter and less accusatory, "To be a good man? One'a the 'better people.'"

Merle huffed a laugh, "Yeah, that last one sounds about right..." He took another swig, grimacing slightly at the taste. He stared down at the ground by his feet, eyes glassy with consideration as he thought on his brother and how he had changed after the world turned to hell and the dead started walking.

 **Later**

After a few of their number had fractioned away to retrieve Hershel, the post-memorial dinner wound down to a tidy two people sitting in companionable silence, a low fire still burning in the campfire in front of them. Daisy eyed her companion with discretion—though one might not use that specific word when describing Merle Dixon—and took a sip of the beer can she was holding loosely in her hands. Merle had been generous enough to gift her with one of his precious few beers, she had not had the heart to refuse him, cheap as it was.

The only sound was the occasional grunt or drunk burp from Merle, and the high singing of the crickets that drifted on the wind from the nearby field of tall grass. In the wake of the earlier revelation of Hershel's self-determined disappearance, Daisy was understandably settled in her camp chair, wholly prepared for the last dregs of her night of sombre social drinking and quiet reflection. Her lackadaisical manner practically begged another caveat, the second came in the form of Patricia.

"Maggie?" A harsh voice whispered, Daisy and Merle looked up slowly and unconcernedly to see Patricia approaching the dull glow of their campfire, eyes narrowed worriedly as she searched the deep black depths of the night.

"Maggie's in town, looking for Hershel?" Daisy's tone lilted to portray her confusion as to how exactly Patricia was unaware of both Hershel and Maggie's respective disappearances.

Patricia came to a stop in front of her and Merle, her face pinched with obvious worry. She stalled in stepping back towards the house, looking around with wide, fearful eyes as if she hoped that Maggie would unceremoniously bound out of the tree line to help her. Merle grunted from beside her and took a last sip of his can, then crunched it between his palms and threw it off to the side. Patricia's gaze became distracted by the movement and she frowned at the litter that had joined the rest of Merle's finished cans.

"Is it Beth?" Daisy suddenly asked, feeling that perhaps Maggie begged Daisy to look after her for a good reason. Patricia's attention snapped back to Daisy, she seemed to have startled out of her rightfully judgemental stare-off with the pile of littered cans.

"Beth's locked me out of her room," Patricia said, her voice wavering with worry. Her hands came up in front of her stomach and she began to wring them together nervously, frightened eyes wider with restrained hope for help.

"Do you want me to come help?" Daisy asked, grimacing slightly as she foresaw her being unable to help Patricia with Beth in any meaningful way, but she could not allow herself to not even try. Patricia's face smoothed over and she smiled slightly in a relief, then beckoned Daisy to follow her as she stepped back towards the house. Patricia walked off, and Daisy glanced at Merle from the corner of her eye to see that he was staring at her in disbelief, she snapped her head to look at him with narrowed eyes, "What's that look for?"

"Shit, Girl, you're not exactly Little Miss Emotionally-Mature..." Merle said with a snicker, "Remember back at the pizza place, _Sophia_ started crying because she woke up and her Momma weren't there...you were closest to her, but you just ducked your head and pretended to be asleep while Lori got her to shut up?" Daisy glared at him, then her face loosened and her eyes rolled skyward as she reluctantly admitted that the event he was describing did, indeed, occur.

"Then...you can come with me!" Daisy said, her eyes lighting up at her brilliant revelation. Merle's eyes narrowed and he tilted his head to look at her with incredulity.

"You hit your head, Girly? I ain't exactly the comforting type either."

"Two emotionally constipated people are better than one!" Daisy argued soundly, she stood and walked after Patricia, trusting Merle to follow after her. As she had hoped, Merle sidled up behind her as she walked up the short stairs to the front door of the farmhouse. Daisy shot him a quick, grateful smile and swung the door wide open, entering it and climbing the staircase to join Patricia on the landing.

"What—?" Patricia asked haltingly as she saw Merle's intimidating frame following after her. Merle glared back, but Patricia ignored it in favour of shooting Daisy a questioning look.

"Backup," Daisy said shortly, moving past Patricia to stare with trepidation at Beth's closed door.

"I'll...leave you to it..." Patricia's sad smile crumpled as she slumped back down the stairs to wallow in the kitchen. Daisy and Merle stood in silence for a short while, they shared a thoughtful glance.

Leaning forward, Daisy rapped her knuckles against the door, "Beth?" Her voice was as light and politely enquiring as she could manage, the difference causing Merle to snort quietly behind her. Daisy shot a glare at Merle for his unhelpful noise.

"Who's that?" Beth's tired but curious voice called through the door.

"It's Daisy...from the camp...on your front lawn? Maggie left to find your dad with Glenn and Daryl, she asked me to look after you."

"I..." Beth's voice halted with hesitation, "I'm fine, you can go back to sleep or whatever, I'm fine." Daisy shot a wary glance back at Merle, asking for help.

"Your ball, Daisy," Merle drawled with a smug smile. Daisy groaned quietly and rested her hand against the door, tapping her fingers lightly as she thought of what could get Beth to come out.

"Who's that with you?" Beth's voice called again, sounding more alert.

Daisy stared at Merle with narrowed eyes and answered Beth, "Merle...also from the camp, big, scary guy, swears a lot? He's here as my moral support, I may have overestimated his supposed abilities." Merle scoffed and stepped forward to stand closer to the door.

"Girly, get your ass out here," he called with a no-nonsense tone that almost made Daisy scramble to follow his order, "Your sister's real worried, so's that blonde lady...and Daisy here ain't too cocksure in my persuasive abilities, how 'bout we prove her wrong?"

With a roll of her eyes, Daisy looked towards the plain white wood of the door with hope despite herself. Her fingers rested tightly against the bevel in the wood, paling as they curled harder into the grain with her worry for the girl. Maggie had seemed so reluctant to leave Beth even to retrieve her father, so Daisy was not about to rule out possible bodily harm befalling Beth if she was to remain alone in her room. There was a hopeful click and the door swung back to reveal Beth peeking through the sliver of room revealed by the slightly open door.

"Why do you care?" Beth asked with a slightly furrowed brow, her eyes were clearly tired and blinking blearily. She stared between Daisy and Merle, looking at the latter with considerably more confusion.

"Of course we care..." Daisy smiled, her gaze drifted off awkwardly, but she forced herself to meet Beth's questioning gaze, "Maggie cares a whole lot, made me promise to look after you while she's gone."

Beth leaned heavily against the frame of the door and her mouth twitched down into a sad frown, "I'm not a child." Merle made a snort of disbelief, to which Daisy replied with a harsh, quieting glare. Daisy smoothed her face and looked back towards Beth, the glowing yellow of the hall light above them shone warmly in her hopeful eyes.

"I think every big sister thinks of their little sister as a baby...I know I do. If..." Daisy trailed off at the thought of her own sister, she saw that Beth's face fell at examining Daisy's own fallen expression. She made herself smile a decidedly sad smile, "If it was my baby sister who needed looking after, I know Maggie'd do the same."

Beth huffed a quiet sigh and backed away from the cracked open door, Daisy's heart fell for a moment, before Beth's hand edged back through and pulled the door further open. With a bright smile, Daisy entered the room with Merle at Beth's acquiescence. Beth settled back into her bed and pulled a heavy book onto her lap, and began to silently read from it, shooting periodically wary glances up at the two silently standing individuals she had allowed in. Meanwhile, Daisy tried to ignore the slight similarity of Beth's blonde hair and wide eyes to her own sister's—the creeping feeling of grief seemed to not recognise the fact that all other features between Beth and Daisy's sister did not align. Being so far from the people she had loved for her entire life—and not knowing whether they were dead or alive—had not gotten any easier for Daisy, despite her efforts to repress and forget.


	40. Prisoner

**Chapter Forty: Prisoner**

 _Prisoner: A person captured and kept confined by an enemy_

 **Day 73**

Daisy had not thought it possible to fall asleep standing up, but she had proven herself entirely wrong. She awoke with a snort that told of familiarity with uncomfortable sleeping positions, and looked around blearily as she recalled the events of the previous night. Daisy was in Beth's room, and so was Merle, who Daisy noted was sleeping soundly as he sat against the wall beside Daisy. For a moment, Daisy bitterly cursed Merle's likely amused decision to not wake her up to tell her to take a similar position, but she refrained upon further recalling that Merle had been instrumental in Beth's admittance of them into her room. Additionally, Daisy had become accustomed to Merle's callous ways, and had long since learned to not expect the world from him—or even common decency.

As she rubbed tiredly at her eyes, Daisy sank down to sit beside Merle, her body creaked with relief. Daisy yawned and began to consider the fates of Daryl, Maggie, and Glenn—those who had journeyed to rescue Hershel from his own surprise descent into alcoholism. She glanced at the pale sunlight that streamed through Beth's open window, and concern began to flourish once more within her. _They should be back by now_ , Daisy surmised succinctly, _town's not that far away..._

With a single smug epiphany, Daisy took her excuse and jabbed Merle in the side with her bony elbow. He snapped awake with impressive energy, and immediately began to curse her existence. Merle's early morning tirade boiled down to one point: "The _fuck_ you want, woman?"

"They're not back," Daisy said simply, she chose her battle and refrained from elbowing Merle once more at the way he had said 'woman'.

"Who?" Merle asked tiredly, there was a whine to his voice that Daisy resented greatly.

"Who the fuck do you think?" Daisy asked incredulously as she heaved herself onto her feet, her body protested once more.

On the bed, Beth began to stir. She blinked her tired eyes up at Daisy, who returned her vacant stare with an awkward smile and an even more awkward nod of acknowledgement. Daisy yawned once more and turned towards the open window, she shuffled over to stand in front of it and peeked down at the camp below. The usual murmuring could be heard, and the usual suspects could be seen tottering around. Most of the group was gathered sleepily around the campfire in their pyjamas, Daisy liked to think that it seemed like a lazy Sunday morning gathering that was enfolding outside—though no one, save perhaps Dale would know if that was actually true.

"I don't see Maggie, Glenn, or Daryl," Daisy murmured as Merle came up to stand beside her. "And they probably would have waked us up if they came back..."

"Th' fuck am I supposed to do about that?" Merle asked helpfully. Daisy shot him an unimpressed look, then turned to Beth, who had shuffled out of her bed covers and was sitting on the edge of her bed.

"We gonna go after them?" Beth said, to Daisy it did not sound much like a question, more like an order. Beth had a defiant look on her face, which Daisy both feared for the trouble she could potentially cause, and admired for her strength, and love for her family.

"We might have to," Daisy replied warily, she gave Merle a side-look to seek his opinion, but he was still looking out of the window, a troubling leer on his face. Daisy sidled over to the window once more and saw that he was staring at Amy, who seemed to be playing tag with Sophia. She also seemed to be wearing very short shorts. "Hey, Merle," Daisy said lightly, he looked towards her with his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Try not to be a complete gross-horndog for two seconds, please? This is a serious fucking matter."

Merle rolled his eyes, but wisely decided not to argue against Daisy's request. He turned away from the window and stalked towards the door. Like a second thought, he threw back, "Ya'll coming, or what?"

Beth perked up happily on her bed and jumped to her feet, she only paused when she realised that she was wearing her pyjamas. Daisy smiled at her and walked after Merle, who had left the door swinging wildly with the force of his shove.

"You change, we'll wait outside," Daisy told Beth. She was not willing to be the one who stopped Beth from going, and consequently pulled the light back from her eyes. As far as Daisy was concerned, Beth had a right to protect her family.

Daisy shuffled down the stairs, out of the front door, down the few steps to the front yard and then stopped beside Merle. She squinted her eyes against the harsh glare of the sun, then gazed over at the camp. A few curious head turned to survey their presence, but only one bobbed upwards to walk towards them.

"Heya, Pig," Merle greeted Rick warmly, Rick shot him an unimpressed look, then turned his attention to Daisy as he approached.

"They should'a been back by now," Rick stated with a small amount of worry peppering his tone.

"Yeah, we were gonna go into town to investigate..."

"'We' being?" Rick shot a cautious glance towards Merle, who had drifted away from them to kick monotonously at a small tree stump.

"Yeah, me an' Merle," Daisy said with a small, amused smile, she shivered as the cool morning breeze fluttered by them.

"You think that's a good idea?"

Daisy thought for a moment. "I guess? I mean, who else would have more cause to go lookin'; his brother's out there. And, Beth's coming too, so maybe her good influence might slow Merle's reckless actions."

As she glanced back over to Merle, Daisy noted that he had bent down beside the tree stump and was scratching something on its smooth top with his pocket knife. Daisy leaned forward and caught a peek of a phallic image, then leaned back with a roll of her eyes.

"Beth's going?" Rick brought her attention back. "You think _that's_ a good idea, too? She's never been out there, and seen what the walkers can do, like we have..."

Daisy sighed and idled where she stood, she kicked absent-mindedly at the dewy grass beneath her feet as she answered, "Gotta start sometime, better that she's with someone who can protect her, if need be. And that her father can't stop her going." Rick remained unconvinced.

Before Daisy had a chance to further explain her argument, they were interrupted by a grumbling moan. For a split second, Daisy was assaulted by images of encroaching crowds of walkers, and her heart began to beat heavily in her chest. She was not given too long to panic, however, as she soon looked over to see the rusted, powder-blue pickup truck that Glenn, Maggie and Daryl had left in was puttering down the driveway. Daisy let out a relieved huff, and she shared a smile with Rick.

As the truck screeched to a stop under a nearby tree, Daisy, Rick, and the despondent Merle—who had been hoping for an opportunity to slaughter walkers—approached the truck. Glenn was helping a tired and an either hungover or still-drunk Hershel out of the truck, Maggie was sliding out of the driver's seat, and Daryl was jumping out of the bed of the truck. With a quick wave of his hand, Daryl signalled Merle to come help him with something in the bed, as he reached down to pull something towards him.

A low moan that sounded distinctly human—or at least walker—emanated from the truck bed, and Daisy grew concerned once more. The last thing they needed was for someone to bring back a pet walker, so when Daisy approached the pickup and found that the moan had originated from a young man who had an apparently injured leg, her concern turned to instinctual, momentary relief.

"Who is _that_?" Rick's hardened voice sounded near her ear, it brought her back to the reality that was Daryl, Glenn and Maggie stealing a human being—he did not seem particularly docile, nor did he seem open to Daryl and Merle dragging him from the bed of the truck.

"We ran into some creepy folks at the bar," Maggie said as she rounded the pickup, and she leaned too casually against the passenger side's door. "They attacked us, then left one of their own behind. Figured it would be useful to take him, find out where the rest of 'em have ran to. In case they decide to attack us in our backyard."

"Yeah, no other choice, really," Glenn said quickly in support of his girlfriend. Daisy looked over to see that he was still supporting Hershel, who seemed as though he might collapse at any moment.

"If we could go inside, son," Hershel spoke up quietly. Glenn's eyes widened in sudden realisation, and he scrambled to turn towards the house, he tugged Hershel's arm tighter around his neck as he went. Daisy took note of Hershel's choice of address towards Glenn, and shot a quick, excited smile towards Maggie. Her smile was shared by Maggie, with an accompanying glint of hope in her eyes.

 _Those crazy kids_ , Daisy thought fondly, then turned her attention towards Merle and Daryl, who had the injured attacker hanging between them, his feet barely touched the ground.

"His name's Randall," Maggie added with a sigh, she glanced between the people gathered around the truck. "I think I'll let you tough-folk deal with this..." She said semi-sarcastically. Maggie shot Daisy a parting smile, then followed after Glenn and her father.

"What the fuck is this?" They were given no reprieve as Shane approached them, his guns were metaphorically hot.

"Lord, just what we need..." Merle muttered as Shane came to a stop in front of him, Daryl and the attacker.

"Who are you?" Shane ducked close to address the stranger in their midst, overlooking any explanation that Rick seemed prepared to readily give. Randall muttered something, a string of spit and blood dropped from his lips as his head hung low against his chest. "Speak up," Shane said firmly, and with an aggression that even startled Daisy.

"I'm Randall," the stranger said lowly, his head raised a fraction so that he could look Shane in the eyes. Either in exhaustion or submission, Randall's head ducked down again.

"Oh, shit! It's Randall," Shane said loudly and with sarcastic delight. He straightened his back and turned to face Rick, and Daisy as a consequence of her standing too close to Rick. Shane's feigned excited expression dropped and he lowered his tone as he approached Rick and said, "Who the fuck is Randall, and why is he in our camp?"

Rick stared silently at Shane for a moment, then turned towards where Merle and Daryl were holding Randall upright between them. "Take Randall to the barn, tie him up," he said firmly. Without argument, Merle and Daryl began to drag their prisoner in the direction of the barn. Randall's legs were dragged along the ground and he whimpered as his injured leg caught on the uneven ground, a trail of blood dyed the grass as he went.

"What the fuck was that, Rick? Who is that guy?" Shane repeated himself with a clenched jaw, his narrowed eyes darted towards Daisy for a moment and she felt a sudden urge to evacuate.

"You wanna know what Lori said to me this mornin'?" Rick said, seemingly apropos of nothing. Daisy's eyes widened and her gaze dropped to the ground, and she took that incredibly personal opener as her exit cue.

"I'm gonna go...over there," she mumbled as she gestured vaguely towards the camp, neither Shane nor Rick spared her a glance.

As she walked away, she heard Rick continue to speak: "She said that you're _dangerous_ , 'cause of what you did with the walkers in the barn...and that we should kick you off the farm before you get a chance to endanger the baby."

Daisy muttered a quick, "Jesus Christ," in shock at the blatant address of Shane's reckless actions concerning the group, then hurried her walk.

"Hey," Amy greeted quietly as Daisy collapsed in a camping chair beside her. Daisy shot her a wide-eyed look, and Amy looked back with her eyes congruently narrowed with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Sure, I'm great," Daisy lied as she looked back towards Shane and Rick, who seemed to be in the middle of a full-fledged confrontation. Her gaze drifted towards the barn, where Merle was guffawing with a gleeful smile as he helped Randall through the wide-open doors with a swift kick to his backside. Their camp was apparently not going to be getting any less exciting any time soon. "Just fucking peachy."


	41. Danger

**Chapter Forty One: Danger**

 _Danger:_ _a cause or likely cause of harm or injury._

 **Day 80**

It had been approximately a week since the stranger—Randall—had been taken back to the farm, and interrogations were not going as swimmingly as most hoped. Though Daisy was not privy to the interrogations themselves, she often spotted Daryl, Merle or Shane with tentatively healing knuckles that told of brute force intended to get someone to talk. As with most of the others, Daisy felt a newfound trepidation toward Shane and the Dixon brothers. Unlike most of the others, Daisy was reconciled by the fact that such violence was necessary—Randall and his furtive group posed an obvious threat to the farm. As such, Daisy found herself in the forest a few miles from the farm, walking steadily with Daryl at her back.

Ordinarily, Daisy could not find her way through a forest to save her life, but the barest trace of a path wound through the trees from Daryl and Merle's frequent rounds of checking traps and hunting animals. Her concentration was on the ground, following along the dirt path and minding stray, sneaking roots that seemed determined to trip her up. Just as her stride had begun to widen in confidence at her burgeoning path-tracking ability, a harsh pull on her backpack threw her backwards into Daryl. She shot a glare at the hand that had twined in the strap of her backpack, then turned it towards Daryl himself, who took no mind and simply held a shushing finger to his mouth. Daisy followed his line of sight, and spotted what had caused him to stop her; a pair of rabbits had stopped to nibble on some nearby grass at the opposite end of a clearing some twenty yards ahead.

Before Daisy could stop herself, her face lit up at the sweet sight of the rabbits. Hurriedly, she realised her mistake as Daryl raised his crossbow and loosed a bolt. Blood splattered against the grass with a disturbingly wet sound as the nearest rabbit was pierced cleanly by Daryl's bolt. The dead rabbit twitched for a second, then stilled as its friend scampered off. Daisy's face smoothed over as she looked at the dead rabbit, Daryl moved past her to retrieve it. One should not see possible food as 'sweet' while hunting, as it will very likely be killed momentarily. Daisy had learned that lesson time and time again, it annoyingly refused to stick in every case, though she took pride in the fact that she had become very resilient in the face of animal death since the world ended.

"Shit," Daryl grumbled as he swiped the bolt from the rabbit. He began to tie the rabbit's neck to the piece of rope that held his other victims.

"'Shit?' What is shit?" Daisy asked with a sigh as she shuffled along the path towards Daryl. He looked up at her with a squint, then scowled back down at the rabbit as he adjusted the rope around his neck.

"Could'a gotten em' both...becomin' a rusty shot with all this layin' about," Daryl said as he turned to continue down the path. Daisy tilted her head in confusion, then hurriedly caught up to him. She studied the dead rabbit as it flopped limply over Daryl's back, there was an empty socket where the bolt had pierced neatly through its left eye.

"Yeah, Daryl, definitely getting rusty," Daisy said with no small amount of sarcasm. "Never mind the fact that you shot a rabbit through its eye from forty yards away."

Daryl looked back at her through narrowed eyes, then quietly corrected, "Twenty yards." Daisy saw that the beginnings of a tiny smile lifted his cheeks, and a warm feeling spread through her chest in satisfaction, she directed her own small smile towards the back of his head as they continued quietly through the scrub.

After a few more rabbits were shot and bagged, Daisy had spent enough time trampling through the forest to gather some of her courage together. Ordinarily, Daisy would not hesitate in asking a friend about something perhaps more personal than that which is spoken freely—but the friend in question was Daryl Dixon, hunter extraordinaire and emotionally frigid bitch. Daisy smirked slightly at her fondly thought nickname of him, and her smirk grew wider as she ruminated on the truth of the sentiment. After Daryl shot her an odd look, likely because of the way that she was staring off into the distance with a slightly crazed expression on her face.

"Shouldn't stare into the sun, freak," Daryl said with a slight smile to lend fondness to his own, less private nickname for her. Daisy startled out of her thoughts and glanced slightly to the left, where the sun was hanging high in the sky glaring at her.

"Whoops," Daisy said vaguely, then dropped her gaze to the ground. Her nose wrinkled in concern as she noted the purple shadow that was left in her vision after accidentally staring at the sun—an affliction that most left in childhood. Daisy rolled her eyes, annoyed at herself.

"What'cha thinkin' on?" Daryl asked awkwardly as he peered around a nearby tree as some bushes rustled in the distance. Daisy stared up at him in surprise, and restrained a smile as she dared to assume that he was concerned about her.

"Are you worried about me?" Daisy asked, not willing to let the rare moment leave without acknowledgement.

"Shit no," Daryl said hurriedly and he shot her a light glare. "Relieved, more like. Usually you talk up a storm and make the game piss off for days."

"Gee, thanks," Daisy said sarcastically with a quiet laugh, mindful of what Daryl's point about her scaring off animals. She stopped and looked towards him, then decided to take his answer as joking, and that he might want to be party to her concerns. "What d'you think is gonna happen with Randall?"

"Psh," Daryl scoffed. He spat off to the side, and Daisy recoiled in mild disgust, though was careful to do so discretely, so as to not scare off her apparent friend. "I think we should kill the fucker, Merle does too."

Daisy paused and stared at Daryl warily. "Merle, I get…but why do you think he's better off dead?" Daisy trusted his judgement, as she knew him to be a somewhat reasonable person, unlike his brother.

"His group's dangerous…we let him go, they'll probably come back."

"Dangerous how?" Daisy asked with trepidation, curious as to what Daryl would consider a worse fate than compromising their own morals by killing a man. He did not answer, and lifted up his crossbow to shoot down a squirrel that was idling on a low branch nearby. There was a low _thwip_ as the bolt was loosed, then a sick squelch and a rustle as the squirrel was hit and fell to the forest floor.

"Dangerous…" Daryl started as he moved to pick up the squirrel. He paused and tried to find his words. "He said his group… _hurt_ two girls, in front of her father."

Daisy adjusted her bag awkwardly on her back and suddenly felt sick to her stomach as she gathered what Daryl was suggesting. "By hurt, you mean raped," she said with a quiet certainty that implied her condemnation of Randall's group, and Randall himself. Daryl pursed his lips, and did not say anything. "What does Rick think? And Shane?"

Daryl tied the squirrel onto the line of small game he had gathered thus far, and rolled his eyes. "Naw, Randall said he didn't hurt anyone himself, only watched— _as if that's any better_. They think he ain't that bad." He narrowed his gaze and looked around the forest, there was no one else around and the world was disarmingly silent. One could imagine that the world had never ended, as deep into the calm forest as they were, were it not for the stray, dismembered foot that was sitting casually near the trunk of a nearby tree, a black pool of dried blood stained the dirt ground. Daryl suddenly asked, "What d'you think?"

Daisy examined the foot, and imagined who it might belong to. Some lost soul, or a poor victim of Randall's group. Either way, it was all too easy for Daisy to imagine it as belonging to someone from her group. The world had become infinitely more dangerous after the dead began to rise to soon outnumber the living. No iteration of life was more cutthroat than that which they inhabited in that moment. Without order and justice, rape and murder were slowly becoming the norm. If her group was not led by two police officers, Daisy could not bear to dream of what devolution would overcome them from a lack of guidance.

"I think you and Merle're right," Daisy said simply. She looked up towards the sky, and narrowed her eyes against the ever-present glare of the yellow sun. Daisy stood beside Daryl and caught his gaze. "He and his group attacked you without reason, and he apparently stood by while two girls were raped by his people. Better to be safe than sorry. We should protect us and ours."

 **Later**

When Daryl and Daisy returned with at least a few days' worth of meat for the group, they were not greeted by a dozen or so relieved faces. Rather, they were greeted by panic and upset, as they probably should have expected from the countless times such a state had taken hold of the camp in the past. In the distance, as they trudged through the tall grass towards the camp, they saw that everyone else was gathered haphazardly near the unlit campfire.

"What the fuck's wrong now?" Daryl muttered to himself with a grimace as they approached the tents on the outside of the camp, he stopped by his and Merle's tent.

"Psycho-kid is gone," Merle announced his presence loudly through the open gap of the tent entrance. Daisy glanced down at him to see that he was reclined casually on his cot with his hands working steadily as he speedily carved a small piece of wood with his pocket knife. There was a partially opened bag of white powder by his arm, and Daisy rolled her eyes as she recognised it to be cocaine—just what the group needed, Merle being even more impulsive and obnoxious than usual.

"Which psycho kid?" Daryl asked, unfazed by Merle's drug use. He threw the squirrels and rabbits towards Daisy and she scrambled to not let them fall in the dirt, then trudged inside to swipe Merle's knife from him.

"Hey!" Merle protested loudly with a death glare directed intently towards his brother.

"Which psycho kid?" Daryl repeated himself as he took himself and his stolen knife back outside of the tent.

"Randall," Merle said obviously with a roll of his eyes as he followed Daryl outside. "Those two pigs took him out, let him loose." Daisy handed Daryl back the line of game as she began to realise what Merle had said. She had only just resigned herself to fighting for Randall's fate being death, to protect their own group from his.

"What?! Th' fuck didn't you stop him?" Daryl growled, his brow furrowed hard as he stared down his brother.

Merle shot him an offended look, then began to walk towards the others as they predictably bickered in the distance. "You think they consulted me before making the big decision?" He shot back at Daryl.

Daryl snorted and replied reasonably, "You sure you weren't just too coked out?" Merle did not reply, which Daisy discerned as being a reluctant acceptance of the accuracy of Daryl's assumption.

The group fell silent as they saw Merle, Daryl and Daisy approach, the former two angry and the latter more tiredly resigned.

"Hope you know that y'all are gonna die," Daryl said tersely as he came to a stop before them. Most of them seemed to agree with Daryl. He nodded towards Shane and Rick, and continued, "These two tell you that his group kill and rape people. Ain't no joke—they're gonna come here, and I sure as shit ain't gonna be here to protect all'a you when they do."

He dropped the line of squirrels and rabbits on the grassy ground near Carol, their resident chef, and strode away towards his tent, likely to wallow. Daisy stared around at the hopeless faces of her friends, and silently cursed Shane and Rick for willingly leading a herd of killers and rapists to their doorstep. Though, as she saw the trepidation in their own faces, she could not entirely fault them for doing only what their morality had bade them to. Daisy stared down at the nearest squirrel which was lying poised near her feet, its body cold and set from rigor mortis; she almost envied the emptiness of its dark eyes, there was no happiness, but also no fear.


	42. Parting

**Chapter Forty Two: Parting**

 _Parting:_ _the action of leaving or being separated from someone._

 **Day 82**

It had taken just under fifty hours for the world to burn down around them. Being such a disarmingly long time after the threat of Randall's group had presented itself, one was liable to hope that the worst had already passed. Consequently, Daisy and her companions were not entirely expecting the deluge of their enemies that befell them. As Daisy had last counted the deaths, of which she was a witness to, at least, there were two people that had left them. The first had been Patricia.

As Daisy had scrambled down the stairs of the Greene family farmhouse into the dark, inky blackness of night she had seen the hidden shadows of dozens of men encroaching on their camp. She was running towards the general direction of her tent, to find the weapons she had so casually left behind for their group's dinner with the Greene's, and Patricia had been running closely behind her. Patricia had been weaker for her confinement to the farm, her fingers were gripping tightly to the back of Daisy's shirt. Though Daisy had not seen the gun, nor the person who had fired it, she had heard it all the same. The blast was sudden and deafening, and the splash of fresh, dark blood was warm and wet on the back of her neck. Daisy had looked back to see Patricia laying on the grass, one of her eyes wide and glassy, and the other missing from the blow, along with half of her head. She had begun to cry, though she had not known Patricia in any meaningful way, but she had not looked back a second time.

Daisy had soon scrambled into her tent and retrieved her trusty knife, and slashed a long arc against the neck of the closest enemy she could find. As he fell back in surprise, his eyes caught her own in a disarming stare. Daisy's reddened eyes, tear-stained cheeks and wild snarl brought nothing but an amused smirk to his dying face. Daisy's tears flowed more readily, but she wiped them away jerkily as they began to cloud her vision. She thought of how weak she must be, to cry rather than protect her newfound family. Daisy knew that it was because she had grown to think of the farm as a haven, safe from the terror of the apocalyptic hell-scape that had overtaken all else on Earth. Daisy had resigned herself to accepting the knowledge that no such place existed. She gripped her fingers tighter around her knife, pulled her backpack tightly against her back, and mentally prepared to fight for her life.

Daisy scanned the surrounding area for any faces that she recognised. She saw none. Just as the fear began to claw at her heart, a tug against the leg of her jeans drew her attention. Daisy snapped away from whatever had grabbed her and raised her knife threatening in the air before her. Two wide, blue eyes stared back, and Daisy calmed as she recognised Sophia's fear-stricken face.

"Sophia," Daisy had gasped in surprise, she ducked to crouch by the young girl, and opened her hand as Sophia's smaller hand nudged it.

"I don't know where my mom is," Sophia whimpered as she clutched Daisy's hand tightly, she seemed fearful that Daisy might leave her, so Daisy became even more determined to never do such a terrible thing.

"We'll…just have to find her, then," Daisy said breathlessly, shooting a nervous smile down towards her fearful companion. It was hard being the stronger of a duo, but Daisy knew that she had to give it her best shot.

With wide eyes, Daisy hurriedly searched the camp, ducking lower as the shouting and shooting grew ever closer and louder. She was bereaved to notice that a low growling was growing steadily louder and longer as dozens of walkers approached the camp from the tree line, likely drawn by the gunfire and screams.

After a long, frightful moment, Daisy spotted Carol. For a moment she felt relief, and then terror struck through her heart once more. Carol's eyes were hard, and her face and shirt were splattered with blood that shined darkly in the moonlight. Daisy glanced hesitantly between Sophia, whose hand was gripping even tighter around Daisy's as she clenched her eyes shut, and Carol, who seemed a bloody nightmare that might be better kept away from Sophia's sight. After only a second of hesitation, Daisy cursed her idiocy and started towards Carol, who was ducking behind a nearby tent and had apparently not seen them.

Daisy weaved through sluggish walkers, approached Carol and touched her bloodied shoulder hesitantly, Carol whipped around with her eyes wide with fear and determination, a gun was pointed in Daisy's face. With a flinch, Daisy backed away from Carol a step. Carol dropped the hand that was pointing a gun at Daisy and her face seemed to smooth over with relief as she caught sight of her relatively safe daughter. Sophia had not opened her eyes, her face was turned into Daisy's stomach, Carol did not move to take her and Daisy paused with trepidation slowly freezing the blood in her veins.

"What's—?"

Daisy was interrupted by Carol's harsh whisper close to her ear, "Take her and go."

"What?" Daisy stuttered, she was confused. She could only think to say, "No." Carol pursed her lips and her head ducked resignedly, her fingers were starkly white as they gripped tightly around the gun in her hands. She tilted her head back and Daisy saw the bloody bite on the side of her neck. "No," Daisy repeated softly, a lump rose in her throat and her brow furrowed as she refused to comprehend the sight.

"Daisy," Carol started softly, her hands came up to rest on either side of Daisy's face, she made Daisy look her in the eye. "Daisy, you have to be strong for Sophia." Carol spoke too softly for her daughter to hear. Daisy glanced down at her in horror as Sophia continued to sob quietly into Daisy's shirt, her hands gripping tightly in the fabric as she was oblivious to her mother's presence.

"No."

"Yes," Carol said firmly, bringing her face closer to Daisy's. "For Sophia."

Tears welled up in Daisy's eyes to cloud her vision, her hands came up to shakily rest over Carol's. "Please don't go," she said unsteadily, not willing to let go of _Sophia's mother_. Daisy knew that her own mother was likely dead and gone, and did not want that for Sophia, who was just too young. "Carol," Daisy pleaded.

"I'll cover you, but you have to take Sophia and run…get out, find the others later," Carol said with a calmness that contradicted the terror that surrounded them.

"How are you…" Daisy started, her voice faltered. "How are you so strong?"

Carol smiled her soft, warm smile at Daisy. "I have to be strong, for Sophia. And now…"

"Now I have to be," Daisy finished, furrowing her brow as she glanced down at the blonde haired-head that was buried against her side.

"Now you have to be," Carol repeated sadly.

"I will be," Daisy said suddenly, voice growing stronger as she felt an urgency to have Carol know that Sophia would be safe, even in her mother's absence. Carol nodded, she didn't seem surprised, and Daisy felt utterly inadequate in the face of such a strong and brave woman. Carol did not seem fazed by the walkers that were steadily increasing around them, nor by the ragged bite which had sealed her fate.

"Go," Carol said simply, and pushed Daisy's shoulder back. Her hand hovered hesitantly over Sophia's head, then dropped by her side. Daisy ducked and pulled Sophia close to her chest, wrapped the younger girl's arms around her neck, then stood with her clinging tightly to Daisy in a reverse piggyback ride. Without looking back, Daisy searched for an opening in the sparse crowd of walkers that was slowly enveloping the camp. As she found her path, Daisy began to hurry forward, not noticing the heavy weight of Sophia as she tightened her grip. Daisy swiped purposefully with her knife towards any walkers that dared to come close, her arm ached with the ragged movements but she paid it no attention as a few of her attackers fell motionless to the ground. Behind her, gunshots sounded in quick succession and Sophia gasped in her ear.

"Mom?" Sophia's voice was quiet but Daisy heard it all the same. Daisy's heart sank into her stomach upon hearing Sophia likely see her mother behind them battling against the dead, but she knew that she could not stop. She felt her shoulder become wet as Sophia's quiet tears soaked through, Daisy gulped in nervous relief as they reached the edge of the nearby forest. Only a few walkers surrounded them, Daisy ignored them and continued under the slight safety of the tree cover.

As protruding branches and leaves whipped around her face, Daisy heard the screams and shouts and curses growing quieter behind her. Her gaze darted around the dark forest in search of some salvation from the fighting and the throngs of walkers that surrounded them even still, she found none. The soft crying of Sophia did not stop, and Daisy's heart lurched as she tried to refrain from picturing herself in some far-off place away from the danger of life as it was in that moment.

She felt lost. One moment, she had been laughing and grinning alongside her family as they sat around a dining table piled high with indulgent food, the next she had been scared and alone, Carol standing in front of her with a gaping bite torn through her neck that spelled death. An entire life, the life of a mother, taken away in a moment by chance. Daisy was lost, and this fact scared her deeply, which made the disappointment in herself run deeper.

The slow, rolling hums of Bowie began to fall from her lips as she tried to calm Sophia and herself—primarily herself, so that she might pull herself together for long enough that she could find a safe place for them both. She pointedly did not recall the time that Merle almost threw her salvaged Ziggy Stardust cassette out of the window of their rickety truck, and tried to calm. With a slow breath, Daisy stopped by a tree and rested lightly against its trunk. She adjusted Sophia with a huff, and thought of Carol. She knew undoubtedly that she had to be strong for Carol— _of course she had to be strong, she had promised._ Daisy scrubbed some limp, sweaty hair from her forehead and started again.

With renewed effort, Daisy scanned the forest around her, and found it to be entirely identical in every direction. She pursed her lips worriedly and narrowed her eyes against the darkness, her sharp gasping breaths were loud in the silence. As she remained stationary, Sophia began to whimper audibly, perhaps thinking that they were far enough away that the walkers would not hear. Daisy leant down fractionally and let Sophia place her feet against the ground, but still held her tightly with a hand running up and down her back in an attempt to calm her.

"Planet Earth is blue…" Daisy absent-mindedly sung in a voice so quiet and afraid that she was quite certain Sophia had not heard, and if she had she would only be less comforted.

"You still singin' that bullshit?" A loud voice boomed from behind them. Daisy shrieked loudly and stumbled forward, disturbing Sophia. Despite the suddenness of the voice, Daisy's heart calmed in her chest as she recognised it to belong to Merle.

"Merle," Daisy gasped in relief as she spotted him walking towards her from the encroaching shadows cast by the treetops. His wife-beater was stained dark with blood and his face was split by an inappropriate grin. "Never thought I'd be so glad to see your ugly mug," Daisy said, her voice weak. Daisy's hands began to shake as she fell forward into Merle, he flinched back as she shifted her arms into an awkward hug around him.

"Who you callin' ugly?" Merle muttered gruffly as he patted a heavy hand on her back twice, then shoved her off of him. Daisy shot him a tired but fond smile as she stumbled backwards, then sighed in relief.

"I'm glad you're safe."

"Psh, ain't no one that can kill a Dixon but a Dixon," Merle proclaimed proudly as he brandished his gun.

"Okay…that might change if we don't observe basic gun safety," Daisy said with fondness as she reached out to still his hand. She almost felt like herself, comforted by his familiar presence. Her smile fell slowly as he grumpily put his gun back in its holster. "Is…Did Daryl get out?" She asked hesitantly. A frown crossed over Merle's face.

"Don't know. Didn't see much…" Merle paused for a moment. "The old one…grey…" he paused once more as he caught sight of her worried expression. "Carol recruited me…to follow after y'all." Merle nodded down at Sophia, who had not addressed him in favour of keeping her head buried in Daisy's side.

"So…they could all be…" Daisy did not want to finish her thought, and it seemed to her as though Merle understood her regardless. He gave her a short nod.

"No point dwelling. Gotta lay low for the night, at least." Merle began to walk swiftly once more, passing her by. Daisy did not ruminate on the thought that most, if not all, of her new family could be dead, picked up Sophia once more, and followed after him.


	43. Deserted

**Chapter Forty Three: Deserted**

 _Deserted:_ _abandoned in a way considered disloyal or treacherous._

 **Day 83**

The world was deceptively calm, outside the rain trickled and the frogs croaked as though the world had not ended at all. Only the distant groaning of the straggling walkers, likely from the herd that had attacked the night before. Daisy was sitting with her forehead pressed against the fogged window, staring out at the mossy green and wet brown gloom that was the forest outside. The window she stared out of was the only one present in the small domicile that they had hunkered down in during the terrifying night before—domicile was perhaps a strong word, it was more accurately a tool shed, maybe a shack at best.

Condensation was cool against her forehead, she sat back in her precariously functioning wooden chair and wiped it away. By her feet, underneath the lip of a heavy bench in the small foot space Sophia lay huddled with a scratchy blanket. It was the kind of blanket that one both loathed for its abrasiveness and loved for its nostalgic resemblance to a similar blanket that seemed to come in hoards to all grandparents. Sophia was asleep despite the sun having slightly risen above the horizon—they had become accustomed to rising with it at the camp—Daisy was not eager to have to wake her. Face stained stickily with salty tears and eyes reddened from copious rubbing, Sophia obviously needed the rest.

Contrastingly, Merle had not slept a wink, as far as Daisy knew—she herself had managed a few hours in the inky darkness that had wrapped around the terror-filled world like a simultaneously suffocating and comforting blanket. He had left their safe haven of a shed before the sun had risen, but after Daisy herself had made herself wake. Gun in tow, Merle likely intended to retreat to his past-time of hunting, both as a comfort and a practicality, the latter because they had salvaged no food in their desperate run from danger. As quiet as the forest around her, Daisy sat back in her chair and wrapped her arms around herself to provide some semblance of warmth and comfort, and waited.

When the sun was high in the sky, above the tallest reaches of the trees that completely encompassed the shed, Merle stumbled back into the shed. Daisy was startled from her nervous stupor, and Sophia stirred slightly where she remained huddled under the work bench, Daisy noted that she was awake and had likely been awake for some time.

"Catch anything?" Daisy asked blearily, her foot curled around the strap of her bag nervously as she supressed a yawn.

Merle scoffed and entered the shed, letting the door fall shut behind him, and sat heavily in the chair across from hers. The shed was so small that his knees almost brushed hers, despite their rickety wooden chairs being pushed against opposite walls.

"Is that a no?" She inferred, a small lick of disappointment making itself known to her. Daisy knew that she had no right to be disappointed at the lack of food—as she had not endeavoured to hunt with Merle or forage on her own—but the pain of hunger in one's stomach often disregarded logic and propriety.

"Yeah, it's a goddamn no," Merle grumbled, huddling down in his chair with his eyes closed, either rightfully tired or dismissive of any conversation with her. If Merle was feeling the latter, Daisy certainly empathised. There was something so exhausting about being separated from one's newfound family that begged solitude. Looking down at the frightened yet curious face of Sophia, Daisy knew that she had become unable to fall prey to such desires. As she had promised Carol in the face of the latter's impending death, Daisy must be strong for Sophia.

"What are we gonna do now?" Daisy asked, trying to be proactive about their dismal situation. Merle's eyes opened a sliver and he looked towards Daisy.

"Guess we should go back to the farm—see if anyone's still there," Merle supposed with a grimace. Daisy nodded agreeably, and pulled her backpack closer to herself with the foot tangled in its strap.

Daisy looked down at Sophia, who was looking right back with her blue eyes wide and afraid. "You ready, Soph?" Daisy asked lightly, trying to infuse a cavalier tone into the situation. She nodded her head dully and scrambled out from under the workbench, Daisy and Merle stood along with her.

Pulling her backpack on, Daisy followed Merle and Sophia outside of the shack, fallen leaves crunched under her feet and a cool morning wind blew callously through her hair. As Daisy looked around, she became relieved to note that there were no walkers lingering around the sparse trees. In that moment, they seemed safe—but Daisy knew not to let her guard down. Beside her, Merle looked up towards the rising sun, then back down at the trees surrounding them, in the direction of a slowly spiralling plume of grey smoke. Without another word, apparently aware of which way the farm was, Merle strode away from the shack and towards the smoke. Daisy did not yet want to ponder why the smoke was coming from the farm.

She followed after him with a nervous huff of a breath, and kept Sophia in her peripherals to ensure that she was following along. It was eerie to walk back along the jagged path that Daisy had walked the previous night, when devastation had hung tangibly in the air and she had felt irreversibly alone. After a few long minutes, Daisy spotted the beginnings of the wreckage, a stray walker lying against the trunk of a tree. A splattering of blackened blood stained the wood around where its forehead had been impaled with a large knife, its face was slack in its final death. The stench of rot and dried blood filled the air as it often did in days of late, Daisy ignored it. She bid Sophia to similarly ignore it with a prompting hand on her shoulder when she paused at the sight of the dead walker.

Such morbid sights became commonplace once more, and after a few miles their ramshackle group finally emerged from the tree line, the Green family farm clear in the distance. There was no movement save the steady licking of flames that were flickering over the ashy remains of the farmhouse. Daisy's heart sank to the bottom of her stomach, and a horrible feeling overtook her. She had not heard an explosion, or seen anyone set fire to the farmhouse. It must have happened after they escaped. Daisy's hand reached out to catch Sophia's, and she held tightly—though she might insist that she had done so to comfort Sophia, it was mostly to comfort herself. Sophia herself seemed to realise this as she looked towards Daisy in confusion, she squeezed Daisy's hand back.

As they approached, they saw that the camp itself was also destroyed, with tents trampled and belongings strewn over the grass. There were dozens of bodies, most were long decayed and clearly walkers, some were less decayed and thankfully unfamiliar to her. In the distance, Daisy spotted the blonde and red-stained head of Patricia near the stairs to the burning house, she looked away guiltily.

"They're gone," Merle rasped loudly, after poking his head into a nearby tent. "Don't see none of 'em dead 'round here."

"Where would they be?" Daisy asked. "The highway?" She suggested, it being the only reasonably safe place she could think of. Merle caught her gaze for a long moment, he seemed thoughtful.

"Might as well try there," Merle said, nodding vaguely. He seemed to realise something and he looked around. With a cursorily excited grin, he noted, "Cars're gone." Daisy searched where he had and found him to be telling the truth, a burst of excitement fluttered in her heart. An instinctual smile broke across her face to match Merle's, and Sophia's followed not too long after.

"They wouldn't leave us," Sophia spoke up determinedly. "So, they must be on the highway." Her words caused Daisy some pause, but she decided to observe some newfound optimism.

"Soph's right…" Daisy informed Merle with a smile. "How're we gonna get there, though?" She addressed their lack of vehicle, which had seemed solely fortunate a moment before.

"Walk," Merle said obviously, Daisy forgave him for his insolent tone when she saw him restrain an eye roll—she conceded that it had been the most obvious solution. "We should get going, nothing to salvage here." Merle glared at the wreckage that surrounded them. Daisy pulled the straps of her backpack forward with a sigh, stepped over the top half of a dismembered walker, then began to follow Merle towards the highway.

It had taken an hour, but Daisy, Merle, and Sophia had eventually reached the illustrious highway. Though their accomplishments were many, their fruits were withered and dismal; the highway was empty save the crushed remains of a car by the side of the road. Times might not have seemed so tough if the abandoned car had been usable for their continued search for the remainder of the group, but the car was not usable. Thus, times not only seemed tough, but were tough.

The sun was high in the sky, Daisy supposed it to be midday, and its harsh beams of light assaulted the back of her neck. She could feel her skin burning, and longed for cloud cover. They had stopped to pity themselves for only a moment upon reaching the highway and finding it empty of their loved ones, then had continued their trek down the highway in the direction of Senoia. Though Senoia had been the town that held the original clash of their group with those who had attacked the farm, it had also been the town that they had rested in before meeting Hershel, Maggie, and Beth—they had stayed the night in a pizza place that Glenn had noted upheld their promised grade 'A' sanitation, even in the wake of an apocalypse as messy and gore-filled as theirs.

It took a few hours, but Daisy, Merle, and Sophia finally arrived in Senoia, just in time for exactly nothing to happen. The town was entirely empty, with only the usual wreckage and straggling walkers occupying the streets. Daisy tried not to fall into pessimism, but it seemed as though the rest of their group had left them—she assumed due to a belief that they had perished in the attack, and not some secretly harboured hatred of them.

"Fuckers left us," Merle expressed her thoughts with his signature callousness.

"Maybe—" Daisy started to reason, she was interrupted by a dirty glare shot towards her courtesy of Merle.

"Maybe…them fuckers left us," he grumbled with a certainty that began to scratch at her insecurities—maybe they were irrevocably gone. One might think that it was easy to find loved ones in a mostly unpopulated wasteland, it was decidedly not as such in reality. It had taken Rick under two days to find his family, but he was undoubtedly an outlier. Way back when the dead first started to rise, her mother had told her to stay put, and that they would come to find her and keep her safe. Daisy had not seen or heard from any members of her family since then, and she doubted that she ever would.

"What are we gonna do, then?" Sophia asked with uncertainty clouding her words.

"We're gonna survive," Merle replied unfalteringly, he shared a reassuring glance with Sophia. "Might cross paths with them…sooner or later." Daisy silently wagered that it would be later, if at all, then cursed her lingering pessimism as it refused to remove its grasp over her.

As she gazed around at the disparagingly deserted town, Daisy was startled to realise that there was one thing out of place—a faded, powder blue truck. Daisy immediately assured herself that it was empty, and supposed that the others had left a truck in the case that they were alive and had found themselves in Senoia.

"Merle, Soph," Daisy said quietly to catch their attention, they looked towards her and she simply nodded her head towards the truck, bright smile burgeoning on her face.

"Oh, shit…" Merle said lightly. Sophia shot them both an ecstatic grin, either at the presence of the truck or at Merle's casual cursing. "Well, that's one good thing, at least." Daisy agreed wholeheartedly with him, and was quietly pleased that life was not as dismal as it had been a minute before. Sophia led the three of them towards the truck, she tugged the heavy door open and looked down at the seat.

"There's a note," Sophia said softly as she lifted it from the seat. "'Going South,'" she read. Daisy shared a thoughtful glance with Merle as they idled by the side of the truck.

"Guess we're headin' south," Merle said unequivocally, Daisy felt an intense relief as she had thought for a moment that perhaps Merle would rather they remain on their own. Sophia scrambled into the truck, note still clenched tightly in hand and a beaming, hopeful smile on her face. As she rounded the truck, Daisy supposed that was a foolish thought—Merle would never leave his baby brother behind if he could help it.


End file.
